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2.18 Killed By Death

Cordelia: "So this isn't about you being afraid of hospitals 'cause your friend died and you want to conjure up a monster that you can fight so you can save everybody and not feel so helpless?"
Giles: "Cordelia, have you actually ever heard of tact?"

Oh my god, what a terrible episode.

There were a few cool moments and a miniscule amount of fun to be had, but mostly this one was as dreary as a hospital room and there were no real chills, either -- except for poor Buffy's. And may I say that it seemed totally out of character for Buffy to be sick.

The tiny bits of cool stuff mostly involved the Slayerettes, like the effective anti-Angel action in the cemetery, and Cordelia seducing the security guard. My favorite scene was a remarkably brave Xander guarding Buffy, and verbally facing off with Angel. Interesting that Angel again brought up his sexual experience with Buffy in order to hurt Xander. This seems to be one of his major modus operandis, since he also taunted Spike about having sex with Drusilla.

I did like that Buffy deliberately gave herself a fever in order to fight the Freddy Kruger clone, and I liked the delirious Buffy talking about killing vampires in front of Joyce. This was the third time Buffy mentioned vampire slaying in front of Joyce. Joyce even mentioned interrupting a secret meeting when she walked in on the Scoobies. All this, and Buffy constantly hanging around with Giles, an adult man, should be ringing alarm bells for Joyce.

Bits and pieces:

-- This episode was about a monster that grown-ups can't see. Were they implying that Buffy is still a child? Okay, I guess seventeen could be considered on the fence, but it sure seems adult to me.

-- Willow did Buffy's homework for her. Now, that's a friend.

-- Buffy's cousin Celia died in a hospital when Buffy was eight, and they were alone together at the time. Even then, Buffy was a superhero and called herself "Power Girl."

-- Willow distracted the guards by pretending she was hallucinating that frogs were all over her. More frogs.

-- What thing on Buffy's face?

-- Inside info: "Killed by Death" was originally written for the first season. I can totally believe that.

Foreshadowing:

Xander told Angel something that was foreshadowing. Perhaps I should be discreet, since I don't want to spoil people.

Inconsistencies:

In the flashbacks to eight-year-old Buffy, her hair was dark. Later in the series, flashbacks to Buffy as a child show her as blonde.

Quotable quotes:

Xander: "My whole life just flashed before my eyes. I gotta get me a life."

Cordelia: "But you do know that you saw death."
Willow: "Did it have an hourglass?"
Xander: "Ooo, if he asks you to play chess, don't even do it. The guy's, like, a whiz."

Willow: "I'm good at medical stuff since Xander and I used to play doctor all the time."
Xander: "No, she's being literal. She used to have all these medical volumes, uh, and diagnosed me with stuff. I didn't have the heart to tell her she was playing it wrong."

Cordelia: "What does this do?"
Giles: "It extracts vital organs to replenish its own mutating cells."
Cordelia: "Wow! What does this one do?"
Giles: "It elongates its mouth to, uh, engulf its victim's head with its incisors."
Cordelia: "Ouch. Wait, what does this one do?"
Giles: "It asks endless questions of those with whom it's supposed to be working so that nothing is getting done."
Cordelia: "Boy, there's a demon for everything."

Xander: "You don't know how to kill this thing."
Buffy: "I thought I might try violence."

One out of four stakes,

Billie





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