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Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Episode 7.05, "Selfless"
Written by Drew Goddard
Directed by David Solomon
Original Air Date: October 22, 2002
"The troll is doing an Olaf impersonation!" – Townsfolk
Dammit. On the one hand, I love good TV, and consistently good TV is a blessing that is seldom had. On the other hand, doling out above average scores for five weeks in a row tends to hurt your credibility as a reviewer. So, after the many good episodes this season, we're treated to this Anya-centric episode. This is the fifth Buffy installment that I've reviewed this season; that's about a quarter of a season's worth of episodes. I'd say that by now, it's a good time to judge the potential quality the rest of the season holds. We've had four really good episodes before now. Episodes that were (much to my disbelief) able to wash away most of the bad taste that season six left the fan community and go so far as to return the show back to its core. Now we sit at episode five, and if this episode is any indication of what to expect for the rest of the season, I say: Don't expect the glowing reviews to stop.
Throughout the existence of the Anya character, we've been told what she used to be like and given a little glimpse of her history. Until now, we've only been told this information. Here we are able to see a little bit of Anyanka's birth and some of her demonic doings in the past. The first flashback is quite a fun one. It takes place in Sjornjost, 880 back when Anya or Aud (that was her original human name, pronounced 'odd'. Get it? ) was shacking up with Olaf before she turned him into a troll. They speak in what sounds like Swedish the whole time with some pretty funny subtitles. Also, important to note is that 'Aud' used to love bunnies and actually wanted to breed them and give them away for "goodwill and the sense of accomplishment that stems from selflessly giving of yourself to others." Anya said that. Yep. This is a very different person than the Anya we know. It was a fun segment.
The various other flashbacks take place in different times during Anya's history. One happened with Hallie when Anya started a revolution, and another took place during the "Once More, With Feeling" musical episode. Anya got another chance to work her lungs here, and it was a good effort. The direction of this segment and actual song, though, were not nearly on par with the ones from "Once More, With Feeling". It lacked the 'magic' that OMWF had.
The central plot this week involves Anya's latest wish she has granted. A scorned young girl who was being made fun of made the wish that her persecutors would know what it felt like to have their hearts torn out. Anya unleashes a spider-demon on them who feeds on hearts. A dozen people die from the creatures hunger until Buffy eventually kills it. Buffy then makes the decision that Anya has to die for what she's done. There's the inevitable fight followed by Anya giving up her demonic ways. She agrees to sacrifice her life and soul to D'Hoffryn in order to restore the lives of the people she killed. D'Hoffryn twists her words, though, and sacrifices Hallie in Anya's stead. So, the episode ends with Xander reaching out to Anya to let her know he's still around if she needs him, and Anya attempts to move on.
This episode was just such a big glob of good that I'm not going to be able to list all that made it so good. Emma Caulfield shines in this episode. From her disgust at killing those people to her glee during her musical number all make it so evident that she has become an important part of what makes this show work. It kinda makes me sad that if this show is able to continue past this season (in the form of some spinoff) that Emma wouldn't be a part of it. She has said before that this is her last season in the Buffy-verse.
As usual, there was a good Spike moment wherein he had a discussion with Buffy. Buffy tells him that everything is going to be okay. There's nothing they couldn't get past together. Just when the dread of some Spike/Buffy shippiness seemed to be rearing its head, Buffy walks into the room. Spike, it seems, was talking to the entity that has been tormenting him since his return to Sunnydale. It was a nice insight into what Spike is going through.
Another bit of good, is Willow. Her part wasn't huge this week, but it was important. She was very excited in a Willow sort of way about starting back college. We got to see some dark-eyed magic and a bit of her freaking out which was a nice reminder of the hell she went through (and put people through) last season. She also tried to talk to Anya about what she had done and sympathize with what she was going through. She also finally used that 'calling card' that D'Hoffryn left her when she tried to take vengeance on Oz seasons ago. It was a nice bit of continuity that just made my fanboy heart jump. Speaking of continuity, there was a fight between the Scoobs about Buffy's decision to kill Anya. Buffy mentions that Xander cheered her on to kill Angel, and that he delivered Willow's message to 'kick his ass'. Willow shows a bit of disgust here and tries to say that she never said that, but is cut off. Regardless, it was nice to see that they FINALLY mentioned that bit of deception from way back.
However, that segment also presents one of the elements that did not work this episode. Buffy was entirely too gung-ho about killing Anya. I mean, I know it's her job to kill demons, but this is Anya. She is friends with her and no matter what, she should have looked for another way first. She claims that she has been considering this possibility for a while now, and that this is the only option she's come up with. I find that to be complete and utter bull. Buffy knows that Anya was once a demon and turned human. If that possibility existed once, it has to exist now. If this subject has been weighing on Buffy's mind, why didn't she take some pre-emptive action and find out how to turn Anya back? The books that told Giles how to do it in the alternate reality have to still exist because the only thing different in that reality was Buffy's absence from Sunnydale. That little negligence bothered me.
On the whole, though, the episode was so good, that I just can't seem to fault it for that mistake. It had a good bit of history, some mentioning of Buffy's love for Angel (Something the WB would want you to forget when you see the promotions they have for that show. Angel and Cordelia: true loves? Hell no.), and a great performance by Emma. For all that, this episode gets:
Episode Rating: 9 out of 10.
- Brandon "Pyronics" Delancey wants a pet spider-demon.
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