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watcherscouncil2024-01-28 07:29 am
wearing_tearing) wrote in watcherscouncil2024-01-28 07:29 am
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BtVS - 1.03: Witch
Original Air Date: March 17, 1997
Writer: Dana Reston
Director: Stephen Cragg
We start the episode with Giles outright calling the cheerleading squad a cult! Cheerleading is a sport, okay?
I do enjoy Buffy trying to do normal teenage things, though. One of the big points of conflict in the show is how Buffy tries to maintain a certain balance between being a Slayer and a normal teenager, and allowing herself to try out for something she wants so she can have a life is great.
But, of course, nothing good can last :D
The big mystery of the episode starts when one of the cheerleaders combusts right in the middle of her try out. The gang is pretty quick to establish this isn't a vampire problem. This works to cement what Giles said in the previous episode: that they're going to be facing other non-vampire related threats in the future.
The scene between Buffy and Joyce is a little... bittersweet? Joyce is obviously not very aware of what's going on in Buffy life, and then right away makes a comment about her getting into trouble. It's a contrast to her worries about Buffy in the previous episode as well, when she seemed more invested in her life and wasn't so busy with her work.
And we have Amy! She had some dialogue in a previous scene, but now we get to learn a little bit more about her, her life, and why she's trying out for cheer: carrying on the family legacy.
Not a fan of the N*zi exchange between Buffy and Willow here.
The conversation between Willow and Xander about Xander wanting to ask Buffy out and then referring to Willow as his "guy friend" is sooooo painful. Being a teenager can be the worst at times.
Amy's upset about not making the team and Buffy tries to comfort her. And while we have Amy trying her hardest to follow her mother's footsteps, we get another scene between Joyce and Buffy with Buffy making it very clear she's not her mother and she wants to try her own thing. Which, in turn, gets Joyce to comment again about her getting into trouble.
It does seem like a big shift happened between the previous episodes and this one? Maybe the writers decided to take a different approach in regard to Joyce's character so as to create some disconnect/divide between her and Buffy and create a base for the conflicts that happen later between them.
This is followed by the second weird incident: Cordelia loses her vision. That leads to Giles finally figuring out that they're dealing with witchcraft and Buffy figuring out the connection between the accidents and cheerleading. And that's how they get to... Amy! They prepare a test to confirm she's a witch and everything.
Pause for me to comment that as a non-USAmerican person, I find the dissecting frogs thing SO WEIRD. End of pause.
Third incident happens during said lab when another cheerleader gets her mouth glued shut! I don't see how this is supposed to keep someone from cheering aside from the body horror trauma related to not having a mouth anymore.
We finally meet Amy's mom and realize there's something Not Right with the family dynamics in the house. And speaking of Not Right, Buffy is also acting pretty weird.
I had no memory of Buffy actually telling her mom she's the Slayer in this episode! She just threw it out there, during breakfast, like it was nothing! It's only the third episode, damn. I wonder what would have been different if Joyce believed her and they had a conversation about it in this episode?
I couldn't help but laugh at the turn-tables of Buffy calling Xander "one of the girls".
Fourth incident is Buffy getting hit a curse that will kill her in a few hours. Giles drives her over to Amy's house and they confront Amy's mom about all the witchy things that have been happening.
The Big Twist in the episode happens right during this scene. It was such a great way to turn things around and deliver a fresh and shocking truth to the witchcraft. I remember being so caught off guard when I first watched the episode and then delighted that the writer would come up with something like this!
Giles gets his chance to save the day by casting a spell (for the first time ever!) to reverse all of Amy's curses. I would not recommend people sticking their hands inside bubbling liquids, though!
I'm sorry, but Amy's mom tackling Buffy is so damn funny.
There's another Joyce and Buffy conversation where Joyce comes to the conclusion she doesn't understand her daughter and Buffy loves her anyway. It's sweet, but doesn't exactly erase the comments from before.
Let's just say this episode ends with everybody getting what they deserved. Especially Amy, who now gets to live her life the way she wants to :D
Vampires Slayed: 0.
Series Total: 6.
Giles Taking Off/Putting On Glasses: 2.
Series Total: 4.
Episode Quote:
Willow: You’re the Slayer, and we’re, like, the Slayerettes.
Writer: Dana Reston
Director: Stephen Cragg
When students start dropping out of cheerleading tryouts by spontaneously combusting, going blind and losing the power of speech, Buffy and her posse suspect a powerful witch is in their midst. Buffy herself soon becomes the target of a deadly spell as they discover the witch's true identity. Meanwhile, Xander finally musters up the nerve to ask Buffy out on a date but in the throes of a witch's spell, Buffy's response isn't exactly as he'd hoped.And we have not only our first female writer for this episode, but our first non-vampire baddie!
We start the episode with Giles outright calling the cheerleading squad a cult! Cheerleading is a sport, okay?
I do enjoy Buffy trying to do normal teenage things, though. One of the big points of conflict in the show is how Buffy tries to maintain a certain balance between being a Slayer and a normal teenager, and allowing herself to try out for something she wants so she can have a life is great.
But, of course, nothing good can last :D
The big mystery of the episode starts when one of the cheerleaders combusts right in the middle of her try out. The gang is pretty quick to establish this isn't a vampire problem. This works to cement what Giles said in the previous episode: that they're going to be facing other non-vampire related threats in the future.
The scene between Buffy and Joyce is a little... bittersweet? Joyce is obviously not very aware of what's going on in Buffy life, and then right away makes a comment about her getting into trouble. It's a contrast to her worries about Buffy in the previous episode as well, when she seemed more invested in her life and wasn't so busy with her work.
And we have Amy! She had some dialogue in a previous scene, but now we get to learn a little bit more about her, her life, and why she's trying out for cheer: carrying on the family legacy.
Not a fan of the N*zi exchange between Buffy and Willow here.
The conversation between Willow and Xander about Xander wanting to ask Buffy out and then referring to Willow as his "guy friend" is sooooo painful. Being a teenager can be the worst at times.
Amy's upset about not making the team and Buffy tries to comfort her. And while we have Amy trying her hardest to follow her mother's footsteps, we get another scene between Joyce and Buffy with Buffy making it very clear she's not her mother and she wants to try her own thing. Which, in turn, gets Joyce to comment again about her getting into trouble.
It does seem like a big shift happened between the previous episodes and this one? Maybe the writers decided to take a different approach in regard to Joyce's character so as to create some disconnect/divide between her and Buffy and create a base for the conflicts that happen later between them.
This is followed by the second weird incident: Cordelia loses her vision. That leads to Giles finally figuring out that they're dealing with witchcraft and Buffy figuring out the connection between the accidents and cheerleading. And that's how they get to... Amy! They prepare a test to confirm she's a witch and everything.
Pause for me to comment that as a non-USAmerican person, I find the dissecting frogs thing SO WEIRD. End of pause.
Third incident happens during said lab when another cheerleader gets her mouth glued shut! I don't see how this is supposed to keep someone from cheering aside from the body horror trauma related to not having a mouth anymore.
We finally meet Amy's mom and realize there's something Not Right with the family dynamics in the house. And speaking of Not Right, Buffy is also acting pretty weird.
I had no memory of Buffy actually telling her mom she's the Slayer in this episode! She just threw it out there, during breakfast, like it was nothing! It's only the third episode, damn. I wonder what would have been different if Joyce believed her and they had a conversation about it in this episode?
I couldn't help but laugh at the turn-tables of Buffy calling Xander "one of the girls".
Fourth incident is Buffy getting hit a curse that will kill her in a few hours. Giles drives her over to Amy's house and they confront Amy's mom about all the witchy things that have been happening.
The Big Twist in the episode happens right during this scene. It was such a great way to turn things around and deliver a fresh and shocking truth to the witchcraft. I remember being so caught off guard when I first watched the episode and then delighted that the writer would come up with something like this!
Giles gets his chance to save the day by casting a spell (for the first time ever!) to reverse all of Amy's curses. I would not recommend people sticking their hands inside bubbling liquids, though!
I'm sorry, but Amy's mom tackling Buffy is so damn funny.
There's another Joyce and Buffy conversation where Joyce comes to the conclusion she doesn't understand her daughter and Buffy loves her anyway. It's sweet, but doesn't exactly erase the comments from before.
Let's just say this episode ends with everybody getting what they deserved. Especially Amy, who now gets to live her life the way she wants to :D
Vampires Slayed: 0.
Series Total: 6.
Giles Taking Off/Putting On Glasses: 2.
Series Total: 4.
Episode Quote:
Willow: You’re the Slayer, and we’re, like, the Slayerettes.
no subject
I think it did. It was through this experience that she learned about magic and how it can be used--and misused.
I think Giles comments about cheerleaders was part of a common trope in media at the time
Interesting! Cheerleading isn't something that exists where I live, so I never connected the dots that cheer = evil? And that if you were a cheerleader, you were automatically a mean person.
Re Charmed and Sabrina: Charmed wasn't out until '98, but we already had Sabrina and The Craft! Both from '96. I think they might have leaned more into the The Craft portrayal of witches and witchcraft and how not all witches use their powers for good.
no subject
Actually, you're right, I think it leans more into The Craft, because Sabrina and Charmed had good witches.
Speaking of, I'm looking forward to getting to the Willow-with-magic bits, because I have so many thoughts...
no subject
I look forward to reading your thoughts about witchy Willow! :D