Buffy The Vampire Slayer Goes Dark And Murderous With "Consequences" For (Slayers) Being "Bad Girls!"

The Good: Character, Serialized nature of the plots, Decent acting
The Bad: No bonus features, Very much a middle act.
The Basics: Faith and Buffy go out on the town and suffer the consequences for their actions in this two parter on one tape!


For those who do not follow my reviews, I am a huge fan of serialized television. I like stories that develop over many episodes and characters who are vibrant and made more distinct by having space and time to breathe over many years. The best character-driven works almost universally involve growth through characters dealing with the consequences of their actions. It is perfectly appropriate, then, that Buffy The Vampire Slayer - a show which takes what appears to be a throw-out episode in the second season ("Halloween") and makes it one of the most important episodes of the series - appropriately and in an engaging fashion builds its stories and characters over many years. In the third season, this takes the very literal sense in a de facto two part arc called "Bad Girls" and "Consequences."

The thing is, even understanding the full richness of "Bad Girls" and "Consequences" means that most viewers will need to watch episodes that precede these and after the way "Consequences" is resolved, they will be eager for what comes next. "Bad Girls" and "Consequences" make for a compelling character study on their own and the episodes work well, even on video.

In "Bad Girls," Buffy opens up to the reckless ways that Faith, the other vampire slayer, represents. Faith has essentially dropped out of high school and she exposes Buffy to the philosophy of the street whereby she encourages her to take what she wants. Faith and Buffy go on a minor shoplifting spree while tracking down swords from deadly vampires who have arrived in Sunnydale. In their attempt to thwart the Mayor's plans, Buffy and Faith roam Sunnydale in a delinquent fashion, looking to recover the swords.

Unfortunately, disaster ensues in the final moments of "Bad Girls," which leads to "Consequences." As Sunnydale police search for who killed Finch, the Mayor's attache, Buffy and Faith spar about their involvement in the incident. Wesley insists they investigate and the conflict between Faith and Buffy reaches a head.

"Bad Girls" has moments that are thematically disappointing when viewed separate from the rest of the series. Quite frankly, young people doing stupid things simply because they are young bores and disappoints me. Faith is street-hardened and reckless, fueled by adrenalin and her characterization is based on being the anti-Buffy. She works beautifully as that. Buffy, on the other hand, is largely wholesome and good, in a way that is sometimes almost bland. But, she is characterized as a young woman with a strong moral core.

In "Bad Girls," Buffy not only tests that moral core - which is normal and a decent character aspect to explore - but she loses it completely. The appeal of things like shoplifting weapons makes little sense, even with Buffy being a goody two-shoes most of the time. Sure, thwarting the dimwitted Sunnydale police makes sense, but not causing them any harm. The only way "Bad Girls" truly works is when viewed in the context of the entire series; the extremity of Buffy's reaction and ability to abandon herself is a much-needed test. On its own, it just seems like stupid kids doing stupid things.

What makes it palatable is "Consequences" and not having to wait a week to see it is pretty wonderful. "Consequences" cements the divide between Faith and Buffy and restores her character to the side of good and reasonable. Having broken the cardinal rule of being a Slayer, Buffy and Faith fight over how to deal with that and that is not an easy decision. The moral implications of the death of Finch are explored and make for a compelling character struggle.

Moreover, "Consequences" gives Harry Groener the chance to truly shine as the Mayor. Mayor Wilkins is a far cry from his cerebral turn on Star Trek: The Next Generation as Tam Elbrun in "Tin Man" (reviewed here!) and "Consequences" finds him behaving even more loopy than normal. He has the ability to make the absurd sound reasonable and he turns his character's emotions on a dime. He goes from being enthusiastic and chipper to menacing with the blink of an eye. Groener is compelling and funny.

Similarly, Eliza Dushku creates a character that is tormented and intriguing. Dushku knows how to run, jump and fight, even in the abysmal Wrong Turn (reviewed here!). In "Consequences," she brings out her ability to play more emotionally tormented, like she does with her quieter character from City By The Sea. In "Bad Girls" and "Consequences" she plays Faith with an easygoing stride and a loose body language that is unlike any other role she has. It is an unlikely place, but on Buffy The Vampire Slayer, Dushku performs and lives up to her amazing potential by believably playing a tormented character who has so much anger in her.

It is Sarah Michelle Gellar who holds up the dramatic end of "Consequences." After performing with a greater sense of ease and using a very different type of body language than Gellar is accustomed to on the show, Gellar opens up with some real emotional gravitas. She has the ability to say a lot without speaking and she emotes with her eyes frequently in "Consequences" to make clear to the viewer just what her character is thinking and feeling. It is no surprise to those who have heard other actors talk about working with Gellar that she is truly as good as she is in this episode. In fact, the pair of episodes works very well together if for nothing else than to see how well Gellar may perform from the extreme range of recklessness to that of responsibility.

Fans of the franchise will likely also enjoy going back to the early episodes with Wesley Windham Pryce, who is still stuffy in his role in this episode. Wesley goes on to Angel and his role on that is vastly different from his appearance in these two episodes. On their own, "Bad Girls" and "Consequences" makes for a great way to become acquainted with the character for Angel fans without having to buy the whole third season on DVD.

Of course, given the quality of these episodes, odds are people who watch this video will want to pick up the season in its entirety!

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Buffy The Vampire Slayer - The Complete Third Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the graduation season here!
or the complete series is available here!
Thanks!]

"Bad Girls" - 7/10
"Consequences" - 8.5/10
VHS - 7/10

For other television reviews, please check out my index page on the subject by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Buffy's Less Than Happy Birthday Starts With A "Surprise" And Then The Loss Of "Innocence."

The Good: Characters moments, Acting, Humor, Suspense, Much of the plot, Serialization
The Bad: Bits of predictability in the plot
The Basics: When Buffy has a birthday that involves trying to thwart an attempt to reunite the parts of an invincible soldier, she and Angel change their relationship, with disastrous consequences!


Buffy The Vampire Slayer is one of those franchises that was huge for its time and then died a quick, hard death, much like The X-Files. Sadly, the aftermarket for both series' has not supported the show like, for example, Star Trek fans keep the franchise alive. Instead, since Buffy The Vampire Slayer and its sister series, Angel left the airwaves, the fanbase has gradually dissipated and moved on to other programs and movies for enjoyment and the sense of community that they once found there. The disappointing aspect to this, of course, is that as Buffy The Vampire Slayer and Angel find a new audience in syndication and then people buy the DVDs, there is less of a community to keep that alive with discussions or such.

And "Surprise" and "Innocence" are two episodes that spark serious discussions among fans. These are two essential episodes of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and they basically create the framework by which Angel makes sense as a real and viable character. Back in the episode "Angel" (reviewed here!) Buffy learned that Angel was a vampire and we know what sets him apart is that he has a soul. "Innocence," especially, establishes why Angel is the way he is and the true extent of his curse is revealed.

In "Surprise," Buffy has a birthday! Getting a year older leads her to thinking about responsibility and her love for Angel. Her birthday is progressing with a strangely morbid sense to it when she receives an odd gift; a disembodied arm. The arm, she and Giles quickly realize is part of the latest scheme concocted by Drusilla and the wounded Spike to bring chaos to Sunnydale. The current minion, who they are working to reassemble, is the Judge, a giant blue demon who was once defeated and crated up because it could not be killed by any weapon forged. Drusilla and Spike hope to reassemble the Judge to give them an invincible soldier and in the process of trying to defeat them, Angel and Buffy change the terms of their relationship.

In "Innocence," Angel runs off into the night, transformed back into his soulless vampire alter-ego, Angelus. With the Judge assembled, but in a weakened state where it cannot simply mow down legions of people without touching them, Buffy, Giles and the gang table saving Angel - who joins Drusilla and Spike - and work to defeat the Judge before it reaches full power. At the same time, Jenny Calendar reveals the nature of Angel's curse.

"Surprise" and "Innocence" work quite naturally together on a video because they are a two-parter. The conclusion to "Surprise" leads right into "Innocence" and the character action that takes place is one that grows Buffy further into adulthood. As well, it becomes the perfect way to describe the curse Angel suffers from. For those not in the know, I shall endeavor not to ruin it, however, Angel's curse is related to his feeling love for Buffy and that threatens his soul.

This works wonderfully on both a literal level - Angel turning to Angelus as a result of Buffy - and a metaphoric level - the fear most young women have that the one they love might well turn out to be a jerk or a monster. Buffy The Vampire Slayer often works best when it works on both levels - otherwise it might be pretty easily written off as a campy science fiction comedy - and "Surprise" and "Innocence" are possibly two of the best episodes for that, confronting with metaphor fears about aging and love.

As well, Willow has a decent subplot as she learns of the relationship between Cordelia and Xander, giving her and Buffy something to commiserate about. Through much of the series, Buffy and Willow's relationship is one of convenience for Buffy with little genuine emotional connection that illustrates why Willow would have anything to do with the Slayer, but in "Innocence," they actually have a very normal and human bond to explore.

And that's where Buffy The Vampire Slayer works best, like all serialized television; on the character front. Sure, the plot is fairly straightforward: obstacle must be overcome. Why we care to watch and why we bother to purchase the video has to do with caring about the characters. Xander, for example, calls back to the events in "Halloween," when his costume turned him into a soldier. As it turns out, he has the full memories as skills of being a soldier as a result and in "Innocence," he uses that skill set for the first (of several) times in the series to make himself useful.

And while there is wonderful interaction between Jenny Calendar and Giles, these shows are very much about Buffy and Angel. Buffy and Angel have been building a romance and they have been tenuous in so many ways up until "Surprise," so when they decide to open up to true love, this is a big step. The episode plays that decision out with a strong sense of realism and class, making it seem believable as they set aside their reservations.

It helps that Sarah Michelle Gellar and David Boreanaz, who play Buffy and Angel, respectively, have great on-screen chemistry. When the series started, there was an aloof quality to Boreanaz and Gellar's performance reflected something of a sense that he was just a generic, good-looking guy being thrown in Buffy's way. By this point in the series, the two play off one another well and scenes in "Surprise" and "Innocence" have a great deal of trust illustrated between the two performers. It pays off as the result on screen is one of the best performances between the two in the entire series. Gellar plays Buffy with a vulnerability and a strength that she does not always get to show when she plays Buffy as a somewhat scattered protagonist.

Boreanaz, though, gets the chance to really explore his acting abilities as he transforms from the sensitive and decent Angel into the maniacal and twisted Angelus. As Angelus, Boreanaz takes on both an entirely different personality and way of speaking, but a whole looser body language as well. Boreanaz sells the viewer on Angel's transformation even without saying a word. He's wonderful in the role and he makes "Innocence," especially, worth watching.

It is also worth noting that Juliet Landau gives a creepy performance as the insane Drusilla in both episodes. Brian Thompson, perhaps best known to genre fans as the shapeshifting alien bounty hunter from The X-Files, has an auspicious outing as the Judge.

Anyone who likes fun dramedies with a serious undertone to be found will find value in "Surprise" and "Innocence" and they are certainly part of the essential Buffy The Vampire Slayer, if for no other reason than the true nature of the curse Angel suffers is finally explored. Anyone who has a problem with either science fiction or television that is not dreary and overly serious may not enjoy these. But the dialogue is fast and often funnier than the circumstances in this set and it works beautifully.

[Knowing that VHS is essentially a dead medium, it's worth looking into Buffy The Vampire Slayer - The Complete Second Season on DVD, which is also a better economical choice than buying the VHS. Read my review of the premiere season here!
or the complete series is available here!
Thanks!]

"Surprise" - 8/10
"Innocence" - 9/10
VHS - 8/10

For other television reviews, please be sure to visit my index page by clicking here!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.

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Deny Everything About Scully: "Ascension" And "One Breath" Are Perfect X-Files!

The Good: Amazing character study, Tense plot, Creepy, Well-acted, Intense, Bonus feature
The Bad: None that I can find! (Medium issues)
The Basics: When Scully is abducted, Mulder hunts those responsible and attempts to find her in two episodes loaded with great performances and wonderful character moments.


It takes a pretty extraordinary series to hit perfection early on. Some shows have a number of perfect episodes, like Star Trek: Deep Space Nine which arguably made the best hour of television ever with the episode "Duet" near the climax of its first season. The X-Files managed a perfect episode or two in its first season, most notably "Darkness Falls" and "The Erlenmeyer Flask" (reviewed here!). Illustrating that the show could be kept taut and interesting and create more episodes that were groundbreaking and excellent, The X-Files soared to perfection with two episodes that essentially act as a two-parter (though they were separated by an episode in their original airing and in The X-Files mythos) with "Ascension" and "One Breath."

"Ascension" and "One Breath" are essentially the stories of FBI agent Dana Scully's abduction and return, which was necessary because actress Gillian Anderson was pregnant and needed to be written out of the series for a short time. In the process, The X-Files created two episodes that are perfect in very different ways. "Ascension" is a plot-driven thriller as Mulder races to rescue Scully from Duane Barry and "One Breath" is perhaps the ultimate early The X-Files character study.

In "Ascension," Mulder checks his answering machine to discover that Scully has been abducted and reaching her apartment, it is clear to Mulder that Duane Barry is responsible. Going without sleep, Mulder launches an investigation into Scully's abduction, with Krycek in tow. For his part, Duane Barry begins to make a beeline for the place he believes his prior abductions occurred. Pulled over for speeding, Barry kills a trooper.

That death puts Mulder and Krycek on the right direction, to Starland Mountain. Eager to prevent Duane Barry from exchanging Scully for himself with the aliens, Mulder takes a risky gambit; riding the lift car up the mountain to try to reach the top first. Unfortunately for Mulder, there is someone working against his - and Scully's - interests and by the time he realizes this, it may well be too late for Scully!

In "One Breath," Mulder is exhausted from searching for Scully and Scully's mother decides it is time to move on and she purchases a grave marker for Dana. The next day, Scully's comatose body turns up at a Washington hospital and Mulder bursts onto the scene demanding to know how she got there. Calmed down, her doctor reveals that no one knows how she arrived at the hospital or why she is in a coma. Kept on life support while her mother and sister watch over her, Mulder goes in search of answers.

Mulder does his best to contact X, who finds Mulder when the FBI agent chases down a mysterious man who steals a sample of Scully's blood. Determined not to end up like his predecessor, X lets Mulder know Mulder doesn't have it in him to do what he does. While Mulder turns to the Lone Gunmen and Skinner for assistance in tracking down any leads - and the Cigarette-Smoking Man - Scully drifts in the netherworld between life and death seeing visions.

"Ascension" continues pretty much where "Duane Barry" (reviewed here!) left off, though for those who did not see that episode, everything is fairly well explained, without doing a "previously on The X-Files" bit. Instead, Mulder infers what happened when he visits Scully's apartment. The episode then becomes a chase and Mulder and Krycek hunt for Duane Barry, a hunt that intensifies when Mulder realizes that Scully is still alive.

It is in that scene where David Duchovny infuses a look into Mulder that says what virtually every fan of The X-Files wanted at the time. Without saying "I love you," Mulder leaps into action and Duchovny does it perfectly with the understated performance of the line "she's still alive. . ." Throughout "Ascension," Mulder acts far more like a man who loves - perhaps not romantically - his ex-partner than one who is simply hunting down a colleague.

But for genuine character, "One Breath" is packed end to end with it. Opening with a story about Scully told from Scully's mother, the episode gives big character sequences - usually in the form of monologues from the characters - to X, the Cigarette-Smoking Man ("I've watched presidents die . . ."), Walter Skinner, the deceased Scully (Dana's father), and Dana Scully (through visions and what her family says about her). Every act has a remarkably complete explanation of who and what the characters of The X-Files are with revealing explanations into how they became who they are. Skinner's is perhaps the most extensive and obvious exposition and his potentially monolithic character is suddenly exploded into a substantive and essential role.

That said, the character who does the most in "One Breath" is Mulder whose sleep deprivation puts him in a rage that compels him to chase down those responsible while Scully lays dying. Instead of dealing with her impending death when her mother insists they execute her living will and take Dana off life support, Mulder attempts to avoid his feelings and chase down those who were responsible for abducting Scully and the ultimate character act of the episode comes in his decision as to what kind of person he wants to be for the rest of his life. It's a huge decision and he has to choose whether to become one of the people who utilizes power or retain his innocence.

This is not to say that Mulder is the only worthwhile character to watch or Duchovny's performance is the only one that makes a splash. Far from it; both episodes are graced with wonderful performances, ranging from Steve Railsbeck's brilliant portrayal of crazy as Duane Barry to Nicholas Lea's cold and brutal portrayal of Krycek. Don S. Davis makes an auspicious return to The X-Files in a vision where he delivers one of the most beautiful pieces of writing ever to be voiced on the series.

But Gillian Anderson ought to get a lot of credit for her performance in "One Breath." In "Ascension," she is stuck in the trunk of a car, which was ballsy for the producers and director to do to a pregnant woman, but in "One Breath," Anderson has to perform, usually by playing dead. The thing is, her performance in her own dream/vision sequences is so good they often do not feel like what they are: Anderson as Scully sitting and looking blankly while the world turns around her. Anderson helps the viewer get inside the mind of Scully, cleverly infusing a genuine sense of genuine loss into even her most mundane scenes.

Fans of The X-Files who like to nit-pick things should still absolutely love "One Breath" because it implies that the future is not yet written. Presumably, Scully's dead father has some knowledge of the future when he says to Scully that she will join him soon, but not now. Die-hard fans of the show come to realize that after a certain episode there is a real lack of ability to believe Scully is in danger as a result of something that happens to her (it's real irksome to tiptoe around revealing the big secrets one garners if they simply pay attention to the show). "One Breath" happens well before that and the nice thing is, even for fans of the show, it reminds us that the jeopardy to Scully is still very real.

On video, these two episodes are accompanied by a little behind-the-scenes featurette called "A private conversation with Chris Carter." It gives details on how parts of the episodes were made and they are fun for fans and add a little extra value to the video.

But this is a pairing of episodes that hardly needs additional value; they are tight, fun, suspenseful and heartwrenching. In other words, they are everything great television ought to be.

[Given that VHS is a rapidly dying medium, a far better investment would be The X-Files - The Complete Second Season, reviewed here!
As well, those who already love The X-Files will find The X-Files - The Complete Series to be an even better buy and my review may be accessed by clicking here!
Thanks for reading!]

"Ascension" - 9.5/10
"One Breath" - 10/10
VHS - 8.5/10

For other television episode and season reviews, please visit my index page!

© 2011, 2008 W.L. Swarts. May not be reprinted without permission.
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