What they do with Cordy is kind of laughably terrible when they have to plot around her irl pregnancy. Just fyi. Don't expect anything great. Then again, you've got a while to go, so...
I'll just tell you this now too as it's not really a spoiler - don't expect any time skips like that - the show still runs kinda parallel with Buffy, even when Buffy's over. Though I agree, a baby trying to fight evil/do something important with/to the world is an idea that's highly implausible and totally hilarious at the same time... well. You're just going to have to wait and see aren't you :P
I do love seeing the gang all clubbing together to look after little Connor though - so cute!
- I actually found out a little while ago now thanks to YouTube there was going to be an episode – or least part of an episode – where Buffy somehow gets turned invisible. I'm guessing then that's going to be this one, right?
- Huh. Wouldn't an invisible enemy be even harder to fight?
- Spike and Buffy's relationship reeks of forbidden fruit. I assume it's going to remain that way for the rest of the series?
- Although I do feel quite bad for Buffy, that scene with the 'social' was incredibly funny.
- Oh look she's invisible now. Honest to Glory I didn't see that coming.
- I wonder if the D'Hoffryn reference is a subtle hint to the viewer that he's going to come back at some point in the foreseeable future, as in they're reminding us that he exists? I also liked the Marcie reference – SyFy actually showed that one yesterday which is when I watched this episode. (Side note but I actually caught a little of Prophecy Girl on both HD and Plus 1 today. I saw the bit where Buffy quit Slaying and later when she met up with the Anointed One. It was very weird watching it; the lighting was a lot darker and they all looked so young!)
- You gotta love how cool Buffy is with being invisible. Then again it is a quite cool thing to happen, really.
- Poor Willow.
- This is also a minor nitpick of sorts but I find it a little frustrating the Scoobies are wasting time researching demons related to the Trio's crimes. Last episode it was the frost monster and now it's this. That's taking nothing away though from Xander's distrust of Will which for the record I thought was handled really good.
- At first I was a teensy bit confused why everyone was making such a big deal of Buffy cutting her hair – I'm a stereotypical guy (?) in that regard – but I sort of like how they were unintentionally reacting to her letting her hair down, which in itself led to some quite funny scenes and actually managed to surprise me a bit. Invisible Buffy was a little bit mean!
- Something tells me this will be the last time Xander and Willow properly hang out.
- I wonder if Xander and Anya will break up at some point this season? He seems to be really uncomfortable whenever they just so happen to discuss the wedding.
- I was a mixture of cringing and laughing at Spike being caught having sex with an invisible Buffy.
- I'm guessing that Dawn was feeling angry because she didn't want to risk not seeing her sister again? Her reaction was believable enough but they didn't really explore it properly.
- I'm guessing Willow's going to have to resort to magic to escape from the Trio?
- That final battle was mental but I rather liked it.
- To conclude, that was a pretty good episode and definitely one of the better ones that we've had this season – not that any of them have been particularly bad but still! I am really confused though when this season is going to start earning its dark reputation because I imagined that it would be consistently black – especially after Episodes 1 and 2. I'm also quite surprised they didn't handle the invisibility plot in a more serious manner but I'm actually really grateful for that because ,as the episode itself sort of acknowledged, it would have far been too similar to what happened to Marcie in Season 1, Episode 11 I think. I'm also somewhat impressed by how they resolved the Buffy story - at least for now - especially since her revelation about life came by and large in a comedy episode. Since the Trio have also been outed and Willow is making good progress in staying away from the magic, I also like that at the halfway point they've concluded quite a lot of the narrative points which have been 'bugging' me since the beginning. I'm now really curious to see what the second half of the season will bring – evil Willow? Tara's death?
Yeah, I think it's pretty fair to say though that the second half of series 6 is a lot darker than the first. You'll find a couple more lighthearted than others, but as a general rule don't expect an awful lot of singing and dancing merrily, or any more baskets of kittens.
Interesting. I sort of sensed that people wouldn't like Gone very much. I liked it because it was harmless fun.
And Doublemeat Palace has definitely been mentioned in this thread before. It was touted as one of the ones to watch alongside an episode from Season 7 called The Killer in Me.
Also, since I'm now directly halfway through the entire series I think and we haven't really discussed this before, what are generally the best received episodes of Angel and what are the worst? I've been ranking all of the episodes in order since episode 1 and here's what my Top 10 List is looking like so far:
1: Reunion 2:I Will Remember You 3: Eternity 4:Sanctuary 5:Dear Boy 6:Are You Now or Have You Ever Been 7:Reprise 8: Lullaby 9:To Shansu in LA 10:Blind Date
For the record, my favourite characters in Angel are Angel followed by Wesley, Cordy and Lindsey. I like Fred, Gunn and The Host a lot too but their story lines haven't really appealed to me much.
Birthday
- I'm curious to see what Cordelia's 'death' has to do with the title. Obviously it is her 21st Birthday (I think she's the same age as Buffy) but usually the titles have more meaning than that.
- 'Jumping Judas on a unicycle.'
- Is that a spark I detect between Gunn and Fred? And I thought that Angel would wind up telling Cordy that he loved her instead.
- This episode's been alright so far but hopefully they don't drag out the gang ignoring Cordy for too much longer. Not only has the whole idea gotten stale rather quickly but it strikes me as a particularly unsubtle way to communicate her plight.
- Random thought but I wonder if Conner will inherit the visions either this episode or when Cordy leaves/dies? Then again maybe not. It wouldn't be the nicest thing to do to a baby.
- SKIP! YES!!!!
- DOYLE!
- EW!! Great prosthetic though. And random thought – although I can understand her worrying about not being integral to the gang any more should she lose the visions, Cordy should still be able to help them out right? I mean she was useful to them in the first 9 episodes of Season 1 and throughout Buffy she had her moments as well.
- I so wish we'd gotten a full episode that centred on the successful version of Cordy, or should that be 'Cordy!' I would have rather loved that. I suppose the advantage of shunting it to the second half of an episode though is that it cuts straight to the chase (random thought but I'm guessing that's where her surname comes from?) but IDK I just feel like there's so much potential gold to be found here.
- I wonder if the girl wanting to bring back her father is a reference to Cordelia because her own father provided a lot of the wealth and success in her life and for the moment she's been able to reclaim that?
- Since Wesley has lost an arm now I'm also assuming that's a nod to the fact he lost his right hand man, as in Angel's still spiralling out of control and trying to get back at Darla and Dru?
- I imagine Cordy's going to take the visions in the dream, and then Angel's going to take the visions in reality? I'm also curious if this will be a two part episode too?
- For real, I am so proud of Cordelia Chase.
- As long as they don't go overboard and give Cordy too many powers, I'm pretty much O.K with that twist.
- To conclude, that was quite good and whilst I did admittedly prefer the second half of the episode a fair bit more than the first I understand why the opening act had to happen. It also gave us a build up of sorts and allowed the episode – I think – to gradually improve as it went along. I think in terms of Sliding Doors episodes with Cordelia as the main character though - strange to think we've had two of them now - The Wish as a whole fared a little bit better.
Where as for me it was worth it alone for Spikes naked 'push ups'.
Lol just how thick was Xander there? He knew Buffy was invisible, and what Spike was doing definitely didn't look like push ups, he never even questioned the noise:D
I quite liked Doublemeat Palace, much better than Beer Bad which is IMO the worst episode of the lot.
Lol just how thick was Xander there? He knew Buffy was invisible, and what Spike was doing definitely didn't look like push ups, he never even questioned the noise:D
I don't think Xander could contemplate the fact she would ever have sex with Spike, he keeps telling Spike he'll never have any chance with her!
One of my favourite episodes of Angel is Birthday, and I've also just rewatched it! I do love the 'Cordy' opening titles!
- 'Is this the right phone number?' Nice little bit of dark humour there.
- I didn't comment on this last time round but Angel and Lorne living together has the potential to be so much fun.
- I'm guessing Angel Investigations is going to wind up recruiting Justine at some point to help with their influx of problems? That, or they're going to downscale again? I also imagine the moral of the story will be money's not everything?
- I would very much like a cheese monkey please. And those Nahdrah demons remind me so much of Tritovores.
- Is it just me or are they really dragging out Holtz's story? If you're going to keep him around for this long then at least better explore his motives and character.
- Random thought but hearing Angel talk about Conner is going to graduate in 2020 makes me realise he'll be 12 by now, assuming he survives the series that is!
- Not to be arrogant but I think it was relatively obvious that the Nahdrah demons would want Fred's head. Not only is the theme of this episode greed – or something like that - but when they asked to buy Wesley's head earlier on I initially assumed that's what they actually meant.
- I don't know if this is stupid or not since technically he's a main character now and it's unlikely to happen but I really have a bad feeling that Conner will end up getting hurt whenever the gang decides to take him somewhere.
- Angel's being more of a dick than usual this episode. And I like the running joke of him being unable to figure out his phone.
- I don't have much to say in regards to that penultimate scene but I thought it was relatively obvious that they would all take the money even I did expect them to be a bit more subtle about it!
- Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy this episode much. This is no doubt a predictable comment on my behalf but I didn't feel like all the pieces came together that well. Wes and Gunn's story had a somewhat humorous end but I don't feel like it added to the over-arching story that much; Angel's escapade I found largely boring. I'm also very surprised they didn't concentrate on Cordelia and her new powers. As brief as it was then, I think I enjoyed Fred and Lorne's story the most of the lot. I do wish though it had been less predictable and we'd also get to see some more of their rapport explored since I think they're some of the funniest characters. Speaking of which, I'm not entirely sure who I can see her dating. Although Wesley would be the obvious fit, Gunn and she seemed to bond back in Billy (aka the episode where her other potential boyfriend tried to hack her to death.) Perhaps she'll end up dating neither, as evidenced by the scene where Angel was the one who came to her definitive rescue? Perhaps though – and I think this would be best since he is the best – she'll end up dating Geeky Billionaire David Nabbit instead?
I quite liked Doublemeat Palace, much better than Beer Bad which is IMO the worst episode of the lot.
Lol just how thick was Xander there? He knew Buffy was invisible, and what Spike was doing definitely didn't look like push ups, he never even questioned the noise:D
Beer Bad has it's moments. Quite a few in fact. Mostly Willow's dialogue, but I also enjoyed Parker being hit on the head with a club.
Come to think about it, there isn't actually one episode that I can think of that didn't have something to like about it
I'm going a bit off topic here but i think you would like to know about something
Buffy is airing in HD in America on a channel called Pivot TV. I made a thread about it on TV shows: US part of the forum but i thought i would come on here and tell other Buffy fans just in case you miss it.
I'm going a bit off topic here but i think you would like to know about something
Buffy is airing in HD in America on a channel called Pivot TV. I made a thread about it on TV shows: US part of the forum but i thought i would come on here and tell other Buffy fans just in case you miss it.
Nope, we know! There was another post about it on this very thread a few days or maybe even a couple of weeks ago? I don't remember exactly!
Beer Bad has it's moments. Quite a few in fact. Mostly Willow's dialogue, but I also enjoyed Parker being hit on the head with a club.
Come to think about it, there isn't actually one episode that I can think of that didn't have something to like about it
I didn't hate it, there's not one episode I hate, and as you say, even the not so brilliant ones have something enjoyable in them, I just think Beer Bad is the weakest of all the episodes. It's well acted, got some funny and good bits in it, but overall its a weak one with too many monkey noises:p.
Its fascinating though to see how differently people view the same thing, like naa_KwaKai thinks Beer Bad is great whereas I think its not, but on the other hand I do like Doublemeat Palace which others think is awful (why is it exactly that people don't generally like DP?).
I didn't hate it, there's not one episode I hate, and as you say, even the not so brilliant ones have something enjoyable in them, I just think Beer Bad is the weakest of all the episodes. It's well acted, got some funny and good bits in it, but overall its a weak one with too many monkey noises:p.
I guess it says a lot about how great a show Buffy is, that every episode has something that makes it worth watching.
Even in other shows that I really enjoy like Doctor Who or The West Wing, there are a handful of episodes that I just cannot stand and refuse to re-watch. Buffy doesn't even have one and that's pretty rare.
Its fascinating though to see how differently people view the same thing, like naa_KwaKai thinks Beer Bad is great whereas I think its not, but on the other hand I do like Doublemeat Palace which others think is awful (why is it exactly that people don't generally like DP?).
I don't not like Doublemeat Palace, it's just that the main story of the episode isn't as interesting as the side stories are.
DP doesn't stand out either way for me. The bar was so low by this point that it just blended in effortlessly with the rest of the season.
Bear Bad on the other hand stands out for me because even though season 4 wasn't the best, it was still a good season and this episode was way below that standard.
I liked Doublemeat Palace more than 'Gone'. It reminded me of season one episodes. A self-contained story.
Buffy's wacky invisible hi-jinks were awful non-comedy. One of my least favourite episodes.
I agree Doublemeat Palace was dreary and depressing but it was meant to be , but it was hilarious in places . Gone was so badly done , the dubbing sounded like she was laying down the vocals from another building , it felt like they didn't really try in this episode .
DP doesn't stand out either way for me. The bar was so low by this point that it just blended in effortlessly with the rest of the season.
Bear Bad on the other hand stands out for me because even though season 4 wasn't the best, it was still a good season and this episode was way below that standard.
Is there a particular reason why you weren't able to enjoy Season 6 up to this point? I think it's had some quite good individual episodes - Bargaining, Flooded, Once More with Feeling, Tabular Rasa - but my personal biggest gripe is the lack of any clear-cut direction. There hasn't really been a compelling mystery woven throughout all of the episodes and, exempting a change in allegiance for Willow, I'm not entirely sure what they're building to.
I can't really say whether I prefer Season 4 or not though. At this point I think they're mostly even (although that's only when talking about the first half of both seasons, mind.)
Doublemeat Palace
- I'm going to be extremely unoriginal and say this episode is about an 'evil' Chinese restaurant called the Doublemeat Palace.
- Just look at Buffy's uniform on the DVD Menu, which also confirms that she will be going to work in this episode. That's one good thing about it already!
- Vengeance Demon reference again. I know that's what Anya used to be but still I wonder if it can be counted as a foreshadowing because Willow's in the room?
- Buffy looks really good with short hair I think. And, whilst I also think it's unlikely she'll continue to work at the DMP once the problem's resolved, I really hope she does actually since we've already seen a character attempt numerous jobs back in Season 4. Speaking of problems, I don't think Manny the Manager is in on it either.
- I liked Spike and Buffy's little interaction just there bar the line 'This place will kill you' which felt a little bit tongue in cheek and forced.
- I'm still convinced there's going to be an entirely innocent explanation for all of this – at least in regards to the secret ingredient.
- Even though a wedding filled to the rafters with demons sounds exactly like something this show would do, for some strange reason I just can't see it going ahead.
- Bored much, Buffy? ;-)
- Amy, you... rat!
- Why doesn't Buffy just get Spike to taste the burger? Surely he's accustomed to the taste of human flesh?
- Although I can understand Willow have withdrawal symptoms some of the time, would she really need magic to go to the DMP and read a book? I guess she just wants to be able to use magic full stop?
- Anya's love for Xander is really sweet. In fact, Anya is really sweet in general. I'm not entirely sure I agree with her demon friend though.
- So it was the little old lady killing the people. I really should have seen that one coming because what kind of senior citizen would go the Doublemeat Palace every day of the week?
- I think it's fairly safe to say that Tara's death will cause Willow to relapse at some point? I'm still holding out for a proper showdown though. We've seen Slayer vs Slayer, vampire vs vampire and werewolf vs werewolf so why not the Hell not witch vs witch? Perhaps though that's being reserved for Willow and Amy instead?
- To conclude, I don't think this episode was very good really. Whilst I did appreciate the change of locale, I don't think the Doublemeat Palace was the most suspenseful environment. I think this episode – minus the killer demon thing – would have worked much better as a segment back in Life Serial. I actually expected there to be more physical comedy here but then again perhaps that would have been a little predictable? That being said, I think it'll improve on a re-watch because I wasn't sure whether or not I should laugh at Buffy flipping out and then being fired for example since there was evidence to suggest that her accusations was right. Now that I know the truth however I should hopefully be able to see the funny side. And whilst this may not be the most relevant time to mention it I actually think I'm growing to appreciate Buffy and Spike's scenes as a couple. I'm not necessarily saying they should be together because they still do treat each other quite badly – and what's the betting next episode that Buffy will drop him again like a hot potato – but I just find their scenes more interesting to watch than I do when she's paired with both Riley and Angel.
EDIT: Oh, and I completely forgot to mention the bit at the start with the promotional video. It was like something they'd do on the Simpsons. In my humble opinion, that was far and away the best part of the episode.
Comments
I'll just tell you this now too as it's not really a spoiler - don't expect any time skips like that - the show still runs kinda parallel with Buffy, even when Buffy's over. Though I agree, a baby trying to fight evil/do something important with/to the world is an idea that's highly implausible and totally hilarious at the same time... well. You're just going to have to wait and see aren't you :P
I do love seeing the gang all clubbing together to look after little Connor though - so cute!
- I actually found out a little while ago now thanks to YouTube there was going to be an episode – or least part of an episode – where Buffy somehow gets turned invisible. I'm guessing then that's going to be this one, right?
- Huh. Wouldn't an invisible enemy be even harder to fight?
- Look what I found by accident when I was casually watching the opening credits and they started to freeze - http://i1264.photobucket.com/albums/jj484/Valourant/vlcsnap-2014-09-05-19h15m52s32_zps79c00f58.png.
- Spike and Buffy's relationship reeks of forbidden fruit. I assume it's going to remain that way for the rest of the series?
- Although I do feel quite bad for Buffy, that scene with the 'social' was incredibly funny.
- Oh look she's invisible now. Honest to Glory I didn't see that coming.
- I wonder if the D'Hoffryn reference is a subtle hint to the viewer that he's going to come back at some point in the foreseeable future, as in they're reminding us that he exists? I also liked the Marcie reference – SyFy actually showed that one yesterday which is when I watched this episode. (Side note but I actually caught a little of Prophecy Girl on both HD and Plus 1 today. I saw the bit where Buffy quit Slaying and later when she met up with the Anointed One. It was very weird watching it; the lighting was a lot darker and they all looked so young!)
- You gotta love how cool Buffy is with being invisible. Then again it is a quite cool thing to happen, really.
- Poor Willow.
- This is also a minor nitpick of sorts but I find it a little frustrating the Scoobies are wasting time researching demons related to the Trio's crimes. Last episode it was the frost monster and now it's this. That's taking nothing away though from Xander's distrust of Will which for the record I thought was handled really good.
- At first I was a teensy bit confused why everyone was making such a big deal of Buffy cutting her hair – I'm a stereotypical guy (?) in that regard – but I sort of like how they were unintentionally reacting to her letting her hair down, which in itself led to some quite funny scenes and actually managed to surprise me a bit. Invisible Buffy was a little bit mean!
- Something tells me this will be the last time Xander and Willow properly hang out.
- I wonder if Xander and Anya will break up at some point this season? He seems to be really uncomfortable whenever they just so happen to discuss the wedding.
- I was a mixture of cringing and laughing at Spike being caught having sex with an invisible Buffy.
- I'm guessing that Dawn was feeling angry because she didn't want to risk not seeing her sister again? Her reaction was believable enough but they didn't really explore it properly.
- I'm guessing Willow's going to have to resort to magic to escape from the Trio?
- That final battle was mental but I rather liked it.
- To conclude, that was a pretty good episode and definitely one of the better ones that we've had this season – not that any of them have been particularly bad but still! I am really confused though when this season is going to start earning its dark reputation because I imagined that it would be consistently black – especially after Episodes 1 and 2. I'm also quite surprised they didn't handle the invisibility plot in a more serious manner but I'm actually really grateful for that because ,as the episode itself sort of acknowledged, it would have far been too similar to what happened to Marcie in Season 1, Episode 11 I think. I'm also somewhat impressed by how they resolved the Buffy story - at least for now - especially since her revelation about life came by and large in a comedy episode. Since the Trio have also been outed and Willow is making good progress in staying away from the magic, I also like that at the halfway point they've concluded quite a lot of the narrative points which have been 'bugging' me since the beginning. I'm now really curious to see what the second half of the season will bring – evil Willow? Tara's death?
Buffy's wacky invisible hi-jinks were awful non-comedy. One of my least favourite episodes.
The darkness of the series will only increase as it goes on, with a few exceptions of course!
Where as for me it was worth it alone for Spikes naked 'push ups'.
And Doublemeat Palace has definitely been mentioned in this thread before. It was touted as one of the ones to watch alongside an episode from Season 7 called The Killer in Me.
Also, since I'm now directly halfway through the entire series I think and we haven't really discussed this before, what are generally the best received episodes of Angel and what are the worst? I've been ranking all of the episodes in order since episode 1 and here's what my Top 10 List is looking like so far:
1: Reunion
2: I Will Remember You
3: Eternity
4: Sanctuary
5: Dear Boy
6: Are You Now or Have You Ever Been
7: Reprise
8: Lullaby
9: To Shansu in LA
10: Blind Date
For the record, my favourite characters in Angel are Angel followed by Wesley, Cordy and Lindsey. I like Fred, Gunn and The Host a lot too but their story lines haven't really appealed to me much.
Birthday
- I'm curious to see what Cordelia's 'death' has to do with the title. Obviously it is her 21st Birthday (I think she's the same age as Buffy) but usually the titles have more meaning than that.
- 'Jumping Judas on a unicycle.'
- Is that a spark I detect between Gunn and Fred? And I thought that Angel would wind up telling Cordy that he loved her instead.
- This episode's been alright so far but hopefully they don't drag out the gang ignoring Cordy for too much longer. Not only has the whole idea gotten stale rather quickly but it strikes me as a particularly unsubtle way to communicate her plight.
- Random thought but I wonder if Conner will inherit the visions either this episode or when Cordy leaves/dies? Then again maybe not. It wouldn't be the nicest thing to do to a baby.
- SKIP! YES!!!!
- DOYLE!
- EW!! Great prosthetic though. And random thought – although I can understand her worrying about not being integral to the gang any more should she lose the visions, Cordy should still be able to help them out right? I mean she was useful to them in the first 9 episodes of Season 1 and throughout Buffy she had her moments as well.
- I so wish we'd gotten a full episode that centred on the successful version of Cordy, or should that be 'Cordy!' I would have rather loved that. I suppose the advantage of shunting it to the second half of an episode though is that it cuts straight to the chase (random thought but I'm guessing that's where her surname comes from?) but IDK I just feel like there's so much potential gold to be found here.
- I wonder if the girl wanting to bring back her father is a reference to Cordelia because her own father provided a lot of the wealth and success in her life and for the moment she's been able to reclaim that?
- Since Wesley has lost an arm now I'm also assuming that's a nod to the fact he lost his right hand man, as in Angel's still spiralling out of control and trying to get back at Darla and Dru?
- I imagine Cordy's going to take the visions in the dream, and then Angel's going to take the visions in reality? I'm also curious if this will be a two part episode too?
- For real, I am so proud of Cordelia Chase.
- As long as they don't go overboard and give Cordy too many powers, I'm pretty much O.K with that twist.
- To conclude, that was quite good and whilst I did admittedly prefer the second half of the episode a fair bit more than the first I understand why the opening act had to happen. It also gave us a build up of sorts and allowed the episode – I think – to gradually improve as it went along. I think in terms of Sliding Doors episodes with Cordelia as the main character though - strange to think we've had two of them now - The Wish as a whole fared a little bit better.
1.Epiphany
2.Reprise
3.Five by Five
4.Reunion
5.The Prodigal
6.Hero
7.Lullaby
8.I Will Remember You
9.To Shanshu in LA
10.Blind Date
Lol just how thick was Xander there? He knew Buffy was invisible, and what Spike was doing definitely didn't look like push ups, he never even questioned the noise:D
I don't think Xander could contemplate the fact she would ever have sex with Spike, he keeps telling Spike he'll never have any chance with her!
One of my favourite episodes of Angel is Birthday, and I've also just rewatched it! I do love the 'Cordy' opening titles!
- 'Is this the right phone number?' Nice little bit of dark humour there.
- I didn't comment on this last time round but Angel and Lorne living together has the potential to be so much fun.
- I'm guessing Angel Investigations is going to wind up recruiting Justine at some point to help with their influx of problems? That, or they're going to downscale again? I also imagine the moral of the story will be money's not everything?
- I would very much like a cheese monkey please. And those Nahdrah demons remind me so much of Tritovores.
- Is it just me or are they really dragging out Holtz's story? If you're going to keep him around for this long then at least better explore his motives and character.
- Random thought but hearing Angel talk about Conner is going to graduate in 2020 makes me realise he'll be 12 by now, assuming he survives the series that is!
- Not to be arrogant but I think it was relatively obvious that the Nahdrah demons would want Fred's head. Not only is the theme of this episode greed – or something like that - but when they asked to buy Wesley's head earlier on I initially assumed that's what they actually meant.
- I don't know if this is stupid or not since technically he's a main character now and it's unlikely to happen but I really have a bad feeling that Conner will end up getting hurt whenever the gang decides to take him somewhere.
- Angel's being more of a dick than usual this episode. And I like the running joke of him being unable to figure out his phone.
- I don't have much to say in regards to that penultimate scene but I thought it was relatively obvious that they would all take the money even I did expect them to be a bit more subtle about it!
- Unfortunately, I didn't really enjoy this episode much. This is no doubt a predictable comment on my behalf but I didn't feel like all the pieces came together that well. Wes and Gunn's story had a somewhat humorous end but I don't feel like it added to the over-arching story that much; Angel's escapade I found largely boring. I'm also very surprised they didn't concentrate on Cordelia and her new powers. As brief as it was then, I think I enjoyed Fred and Lorne's story the most of the lot. I do wish though it had been less predictable and we'd also get to see some more of their rapport explored since I think they're some of the funniest characters. Speaking of which, I'm not entirely sure who I can see her dating. Although Wesley would be the obvious fit, Gunn and she seemed to bond back in Billy (aka the episode where her other potential boyfriend tried to hack her to death.) Perhaps she'll end up dating neither, as evidenced by the scene where Angel was the one who came to her definitive rescue? Perhaps though – and I think this would be best since he is the best – she'll end up dating Geeky Billionaire David Nabbit instead?
I love Beer Bad! I've never understood the hate for this episode.
Beer Bad has it's moments. Quite a few in fact. Mostly Willow's dialogue, but I also enjoyed Parker being hit on the head with a club.
Come to think about it, there isn't actually one episode that I can think of that didn't have something to like about it
Yeah, the Willow/Parker scenes were the highlight for me too.
I also second that - at least so far - there hasn't really been at least one good thing about an episode.
Buffy is airing in HD in America on a channel called Pivot TV. I made a thread about it on TV shows: US part of the forum but i thought i would come on here and tell other Buffy fans just in case you miss it.
Nope, we know! There was another post about it on this very thread a few days or maybe even a couple of weeks ago? I don't remember exactly!
I didn't hate it, there's not one episode I hate, and as you say, even the not so brilliant ones have something enjoyable in them, I just think Beer Bad is the weakest of all the episodes. It's well acted, got some funny and good bits in it, but overall its a weak one with too many monkey noises:p.
Its fascinating though to see how differently people view the same thing, like naa_KwaKai thinks Beer Bad is great whereas I think its not, but on the other hand I do like Doublemeat Palace which others think is awful (why is it exactly that people don't generally like DP?).
Ah right, i did look back before posting, i must have missed it
I guess it says a lot about how great a show Buffy is, that every episode has something that makes it worth watching.
Even in other shows that I really enjoy like Doctor Who or The West Wing, there are a handful of episodes that I just cannot stand and refuse to re-watch. Buffy doesn't even have one and that's pretty rare.
I don't not like Doublemeat Palace, it's just that the main story of the episode isn't as interesting as the side stories are.
Bear Bad on the other hand stands out for me because even though season 4 wasn't the best, it was still a good season and this episode was way below that standard.
I agree Doublemeat Palace was dreary and depressing but it was meant to be , but it was hilarious in places . Gone was so badly done , the dubbing sounded like she was laying down the vocals from another building , it felt like they didn't really try in this episode .
Is there a particular reason why you weren't able to enjoy Season 6 up to this point? I think it's had some quite good individual episodes - Bargaining, Flooded, Once More with Feeling, Tabular Rasa - but my personal biggest gripe is the lack of any clear-cut direction. There hasn't really been a compelling mystery woven throughout all of the episodes and, exempting a change in allegiance for Willow, I'm not entirely sure what they're building to.
I can't really say whether I prefer Season 4 or not though. At this point I think they're mostly even (although that's only when talking about the first half of both seasons, mind.)
Doublemeat Palace
- I'm going to be extremely unoriginal and say this episode is about an 'evil' Chinese restaurant called the Doublemeat Palace.
- Just look at Buffy's uniform on the DVD Menu, which also confirms that she will be going to work in this episode. That's one good thing about it already!
- Vengeance Demon reference again. I know that's what Anya used to be but still I wonder if it can be counted as a foreshadowing because Willow's in the room?
- Buffy looks really good with short hair I think. And, whilst I also think it's unlikely she'll continue to work at the DMP once the problem's resolved, I really hope she does actually since we've already seen a character attempt numerous jobs back in Season 4. Speaking of problems, I don't think Manny the Manager is in on it either.
- I liked Spike and Buffy's little interaction just there bar the line 'This place will kill you' which felt a little bit tongue in cheek and forced.
- I'm still convinced there's going to be an entirely innocent explanation for all of this – at least in regards to the secret ingredient.
- Even though a wedding filled to the rafters with demons sounds exactly like something this show would do, for some strange reason I just can't see it going ahead.
- Bored much, Buffy? ;-)
- Amy, you... rat!
- Why doesn't Buffy just get Spike to taste the burger? Surely he's accustomed to the taste of human flesh?
- Although I can understand Willow have withdrawal symptoms some of the time, would she really need magic to go to the DMP and read a book? I guess she just wants to be able to use magic full stop?
- Anya's love for Xander is really sweet. In fact, Anya is really sweet in general. I'm not entirely sure I agree with her demon friend though.
- So it was the little old lady killing the people. I really should have seen that one coming because what kind of senior citizen would go the Doublemeat Palace every day of the week?
- I think it's fairly safe to say that Tara's death will cause Willow to relapse at some point? I'm still holding out for a proper showdown though. We've seen Slayer vs Slayer, vampire vs vampire and werewolf vs werewolf so why not the Hell not witch vs witch? Perhaps though that's being reserved for Willow and Amy instead?
- To conclude, I don't think this episode was very good really. Whilst I did appreciate the change of locale, I don't think the Doublemeat Palace was the most suspenseful environment. I think this episode – minus the killer demon thing – would have worked much better as a segment back in Life Serial. I actually expected there to be more physical comedy here but then again perhaps that would have been a little predictable? That being said, I think it'll improve on a re-watch because I wasn't sure whether or not I should laugh at Buffy flipping out and then being fired for example since there was evidence to suggest that her accusations was right. Now that I know the truth however I should hopefully be able to see the funny side. And whilst this may not be the most relevant time to mention it I actually think I'm growing to appreciate Buffy and Spike's scenes as a couple. I'm not necessarily saying they should be together because they still do treat each other quite badly – and what's the betting next episode that Buffy will drop him again like a hot potato – but I just find their scenes more interesting to watch than I do when she's paired with both Riley and Angel.
EDIT: Oh, and I completely forgot to mention the bit at the start with the promotional video. It was like something they'd do on the Simpsons. In my humble opinion, that was far and away the best part of the episode.