Mr. Pointy's Review: Family (5.06 spoilers)
so...@xs4all.nl
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Buffy the Vampire Slayer
Family
Season: 5, Episode 6
Rating: 3 out of 5 stakes
Summary
Tara's birthday is coming up and her family comes to town looking for her.
Tara's secret is that she's supposed to become a demon on her twentieth
birthday and her family wants her locked away at home when that happens.
Tara doesn't want to go, though, because it would involve leaving Willow
behind. So she casts a spell to stop the Scoobies from seeing her demon
side. As those spells usually do, it doesn't work exactly as planned and
they're now unable to see demons at all. A few of Glory's minions pick that
time to attack. Tara realizes her error and undoes the spell so the demons
can be defeated. In a final confrontation, Spike is the one who figures out
Tara hasn't turned into a demon at all and he proves it by hitting her,
causing a headache. Tara stays and her family leaves when they see the
Scoobies are prepared to defend Tara if they try to take her by force.
My Opinion
I liked this episode more than I should have. Tara's secret has been built
up for almost a full season and it fell flat. I had expected something a
lot more interesting than a family myth. That's ignoring a few of the more
unbelievable parts of the episode (With all her magical knowledge, why did
Tara never question what she'd become? A bit of research and a few
detection spells would have revealed the truth. Also, why did no one, not
even Willow, realize that Spike's chip can reasonably only consider someone
human if Spike thinks they're human? A foolproof demon detector that can
fit on a chip and work from inside the skull just isn't believable).
Hopefully it'll turn out that there's more to Tara than we've found out so
far.
What I did like in this episode was how the relationship between Willow and
Tara was portrayed. They're so sweet together. I guess I really am just an
old sap. The invisible demons were quite creepy as well. Invisibility is
nothing new in the Buffyverse, but the last time it was just a human girl
who'd turned invisible and she nearly managed to kill Buffy (see Out of
Mind, Out of Sight). The fact that Buffy managed to hold her own against
three demons this time, even with a bit of help from Spike, means she has
grown a lot stronger over the years.
Memorable Moments
The opening scene with Willow playing with Tara's kitten and Tara telling
Willow a silly story about it isn't just incredibly sweet, it's also very
recognizable. TV often shows the interaction within a relationship as
always being about the relationship, whereas in reality, love is a powerful
drug that eats away your seriousness and makes you do strange things, like
tell eachother silly stories. I've told quite a few myself.
Buffy tells Giles what Dawn really is. It makes sense to do that, because
Giles knows more about the occult and magic than Buffy does. That's not the
way Buffy thinks, though. She didn't tell him about Angel's return in the
third season, even though she should have. It shows that she has learned
from her mistakes and that she has grown even closer to Giles.
We learn that Buffy's relationship with her dad has been going downhill even
more. Now he didn't even call her back when she told him Joyce was sick.
That's probably one reason Buffy and Giles have grown closer.
Spike really has it bad for Buffy. While making love to Harmony, he
fantasizes about fighting Buffy. It's a good thing Harmony isn't Drusilla,
because she certainly would have known.
The final scene is another sweet Willow and Tara one. They're dancing
together and slowly rise to several feet above the ground.
Quotes
Giles: (reading a book) People help each other out, Anya. It's one
of our strange customs.
Buffy: Giles, I noticed you're doing the smallest amount of helping
that can actually be called helping.
Giles: Well, I saw myself in more of a ... patriarchal sort of role.
You know, lots of pointing and scowling.
Tara: (about Glory) Yeah. You learn her source, (grins) and, uh,
we'll introduce her to her insect reflection.
Everyone looks at her in confusion. Tara stops smiling.
Tara: (embarrassed) Um ... that, that was funny if you, um, studied
Taglarin mythic rites... (softly) and are a complete dork.
Xander: (about Tara's birthday presents) But Tara, I just know she
likes Willow, and she already has one of those.
Buffy: Tara's birthday. We're at a loss.
Giles: You're in a magic shop, and you can't think what Tara would
like. I believe you're both profoundly stupid.
Xander: Well, we don't really know ... the kind of things witches
like. What, are we gonna get her some cheesy crystal ball?
Giles: Bloody well better not. I've got mine already wrapped.
Harmony: Uhh, it was so exciting. You wouldn't believe it. I went to
April Fool's, and absolutely everything was on sale.
Spike: You *paid* for it?
Harmony: (unpacking bags) Oh, no. I just killed the clerk. Still, a
bargain's a bargain.
Mr. Maclay: Is this a joke? (steps down one of the stairs) I'm not
gonna be threatened by two little girls.
Dawn: You don't wanna mess with us.
Buffy: (about Dawn) She's a hair-puller.
Buffy Reviews: http://www.xs4all.nl/~sotty/buffy.html
Angel Reviews: http://www.xs4all.nl/~sotty/angel.html
--
Patrick Scheele (so...@xs4all.nl)
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