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4.2 Living Conditions

Buffy: "It's simple. I'm going to have to kill her."

If you're going to do a series about college life, an episode about the joys of having roommates is a must. A computer has matched Buffy with "mini-mom of Momdonia," and what starts as minor irritation on both sides soon escalates into a full-fledged conflict. Having Kathy turn out to be a demon trying to steal Buffy's soul was even something of an anti-climax; a terrible roommate is probably worse, because they usually end up being a permanent problem instead of disappearing conveniently through a hole in the floor.

I did really enjoy the Buffy/Kathy scenes; the sweaters, the evil toenails, the labels on all the food in the fridge. We've all been there, haven't we? Although actually my first three roommates in college were more like Willow's roommates, and I might actually have been relieved to have someone like Kathy. If she weren't a demon, of course.

The scene where Willow introduces Giles to Kathy as our "adult friend -- but not in a bad way" was fun. And I enjoyed Oz and Xander trying to get up the nerve to check Buffy's bonds.

It seemed like a given that Buffy and Willow should room together, and now they are. It might be fun if, as they hinted at the end, they didn't get along as perfectly as they think they will.

Bits and pieces:

-- That damned Cher song stayed in my head for three days after this episode.

-- The big Jawa-like monsters were uninteresting demons.

-- "Nobody deserves mime, Buffy." This was actually my favorite line in this episode, but it didn't really relate to the plot, so I didn't put it in my spoiler space.

Quotes:

Kathy: "I noticed that some of my milk was missing. Did you..."
Buffy: "Oh! Yeah, actually, I did. I meant to..."
Kathy: "No! It's totally okay, I was just wondering."
Buffy: "Yeah, I was making my coffee and I just..."
Kathy: "Buffy, it's fine. I just wanted to make sure that we didn't have a thief or something."
Buffy: "Like who? Sid the wiley dairy gnome?"

Buffy: "It had a cloak on, and glowing green eyes, and skin had a, like, super-bad fake rub-on tan."
Giles: "Translate?"
Buffy: "Orange-y?"
Giles: "Thank you."

Buffy: "Giles, Kathy. Kathy, Giles."
Willow: "He's our grown-up friend. Not in a creepy way."

Buffy: "Cool, you guys can do the brain thing. I'm gonna go to class."
Oz: "Which could also be construed as the brain thing."
Buffy: "Not when you're minoring in 'Napping 101'."

Buffy: "So then Kathy's like, 'It's share time.' And I'm like, 'Oh yeah? Share this!' (She punches at the air.)
Oz: "So, either you hit her, or you did your wacky mime routine for her."
Buffy: "Well, I didn't do either, actually. But she deserves it, don't you think?"
Oz: "Nobody deserves mime, Buffy."
Buffy: "Kathy does. She deserves to be locked in an invisible box and blown away by an imaginary wind and... and..."
Oz: "Forced to wear a binding unitard?"
Buffy: "Yeah, the itchy kind, it's perfect."
Oz: "Just here to help."

Willow: "Toenails?"
Buffy: "Evil toenails. I took them off the floor last night when she was in the bathroom. She thought I was asleep."
Willow: "Good thinking, 'cause in the middle of the night those toenails could have attacked you and left little half-moon marks all over your body."

Let's give this one a three. I did enjoy it.

Billie





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