Home | Show Index | Blog | Movie Reviews | Site Updates | About Me
Cast photo


5.3 The Replacement

Xander: "Wait until you have an evil twin and see how you handle it."
Willow: (quietly to herself) "I handled it fine."

So we have a hit fantasy show, and one of the actors has an identical twin in real life. It was inevitable that sooner or later we would get an "evil twin," because who could resist? I wish they had waited for a better plot idea, though; the humor seemed forced and the actors uncomfortable, and comparing this one to "The Wish" and "Dopplegangland" just makes it look worse.

Why didn't they promote the fact that it was Nicholas Brendon's twin? His name (Kelly Donovan) was given in TV Guide, but not in the opening credits. I swear that I couldn't tell Nicholas Brendon and his twin apart, and if someone had told me that they had used split screen for the limited number of times that the twins interacted, I would have believed it. I'll bet that the reason it was so hard to tell them apart and the reason they downplayed it was that Nicholas Brendon played both Xanders, except in scenes where the two interacted.

I liked the Trek references; what happened to Xander (having one person's attributes split into two people that can't survive without the other) was done in the classic Trek episode, "The Enemy Within." Although as a Trek fan (mostly a former Trek fan), I'm trying not to take "There comes a point where you either have to move on or just buy yourself a Klingon costume and go with it" personally. :)

Anya seemed more annoying than usual with even more "buy it for me!" sort of behavior. I like her better when she's being outrageous. In fact, I'm waiting to see Anya and Xander break up, because I'm betting it will be the break-up from Hell.

The best moment in this episode for me was Riley admitting that he knows Buffy doesn't love him -- to Xander. Riley may think that he loves Buffy just the way she is, but I don't; I think that deep down, he finds her powers threatening to his masculinity, and she can't help but pick up on it. I think he'd love Buffy as a normal human. I also think that Buffy believes she loves Riley and that he's just what she wants, a total opposite from Angel, but she's lying to herself.

Bits and pieces:

-- Xander finally acquired a steady job and an apartment. It's about time.

-- I liked Buffy critiquing the fight scene in the Kung Fu movie.

-- I loved Giles beating off the demon with the statue of a fertility god. "Well, I'm not dead or unconscious, so I say bravo for me."

-- Speaking of statuary, I thought the mannequin Spike put together looked more like Harmony than Buffy.

-- Where the heck does Anya live, and why can't Xander move in with her? And how is she paying for it? She probably uses the same source of cash that Giles does. Maybe there's a supernatural slush fund or something.

Quotes:

Xander: "I do have Spaghetti-O's. Set 'em on top of the dryer and you're a fluff cycle away from lukewarm goodness."
Riley: "I had dryer food for lunch."

Xander: "Yeah, maybe it's definitely time to start looking for a new place. Something a little nicer. Buffy, you've been to Hell. They have one bedrooms, right?"

Riley: "We like the ceiling fan."
Willow: "Yes. It's very, you know, kind of Old South."
Buffy: "But without the unpleasant slavery associations."

Giles: "He had a very specific olfactory presence."
Xander: "Well, I guess we're off to the olfactory. I hate that place."

Buffy: "Well, if this guy wants to fight with weapons, I've got it covered from A to Z. From axe to ... zee other axe."

Manager: "I think someone said you're currently in your parents' basement?"
Xander: "Right. There comes a point where you either have to move on, or just buy yourself a Klingon costume and go with it."

Xander: "Okay. I woke up in the dump this morning."
Willow: "Xander, the basement isn't a dump. It's more like a really nice hovel."

Xander 1: "She's joking."
Xander 2: "No she's not! She entirely wants to have sex with us together. Which is wrong, and it would be very confusing."
Giles: " We just need to light the candles. Also, we should continue to pretend we heard none of the disturbing sex talk."
Willow: "Check. Candles and pretense."

Anya: "What'll we do if this doesn't work?"
Xanders: "(unison) Kill us both, Spock! (They look at each other and laugh)
Buffy: "They're kind of the same now."
Giles: "Yes, he's clearly a bad influence on himself."

Let's say two out of four stakes for this one,

Billie





Home | Show Index | Blog | Movie Reviews | Site Updates | About Me