What's My Line Part Two S2 E10 (Buffy and the Art of Story)

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This week on the podcast Buffy and the Art of Story: What’s My Line Part Two (Season 2 Episode 10 of Buffy the Vampire Slayer):

This episode covers (1) a Midpoint reversal that spins the story and changes Buffy’s mindset about slaying; (2) why readers don’t always believe something that’s authentic; (3) quickly reminding your audience what happened before; and (4) crafting an episode around a great line.

As always, the discussion is spoiler-free, except at the end (with plenty of warning).

Next Up: Ted

Last Week: What’s My Line Part 1

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Episode Transcript for What’s My Line Part Two

Hello and welcome to Buffy and the Art of Story Season Two. If you love Buffy the Vampire Slayer and you love creating stories – or just taking them apart to see how they work – you’re in the right place.

I am Lisa M Lilly, author of the Awakening supernatural thriller series and the Q.C. Davis mysteries and founder of WritingAsASecondCareer.com.

This Monday we are talking about What’s My Line Part Two, Season Two Episode Ten.

This is the second part of a two-part episode

What’s Included

We’ll cover:

the Midpoint Reversal that spins the story in a new direction and changes Buffy’s mindset about slaying;
why readers and audience members don’t always believe something even if it’s authentic; and
how to quickly remind your audience what happened before without slowing down your story or losing their interest.

As always, there will be no Spoilers except at the end to talk about foreshadowing, but I’ll give you plenty of warning.

Okay, let’s dive into the Hellmouth.

What’s My Line Part Two was written by Marti Noxon and directed by David Semel.

And we will get commentary from Marti Noxon about this part of the episode.

Starting With Conflict

We still start with an Opening Conflict even though we are picking up from last time and that story Midpoint. Because we are right in the center of this two-part episode.

Kendra and Buffy are facing off against each other after fighting. Buffy says something like, “Once more. Who are you again?” Kendra says she is the Vampire Slayer, which is how we ended the last episode. But notice how we pick up again with this repetition. And it fits because Buffy of course does not believe Kendra and is still processing what Kendra said.

Buffy tells Kendra, “Nice cover story. Try it on someone who’s not the real Slayer.”

Kendra says, “Nonsense. There is but one Slayer and I am she.:

Buffy proposes they back off and go see her Watcher and Kendra agrees. We are 1 minute 44 seconds in, and we switch to more Opening Conflict.

Remember How Angel’s In Trouble?

Angel is breathing hard in the corner of the cage. There is sunlight all around him. So again we’re getting a very quick flash of what happened last time. So even if you had not watched the prior episode, you would already know that we have apparently a new Slayer who was fighting Buffy. And that Angel has been overpowered and knocked into this cage and is about to die.

We switch to the credits. The credits come in much earlier than in most episodes. I didn’t go back and look but I’m pretty sure we did not see the credits earlier than about 2.5 – 3 minutes. So this tells us how quickly we are just getting us up to speed and then we will come back from the credits.

That’s where we really pick up the story and it moves forward.

Buffy’s Sarcasm

We start in the library. Giles says he spoke to Kendra’s watcher, Mr. Zabuto, whom Giles knows. Buffy remains skeptical of Kendra. She’s sarcastic when talking to her, including making fun when Kendra says she has no last name. And Buffy says something like, “Stuck in the eighties much?” She also sometimes mocks Kendra’s accent. Later when they’re friendlier she will jokingly mimic it.

From today’s perspective, that seems a little bit insensitive and something we wouldn’t want to see our hero do now. At the time I don’t think there was as much awareness.

Authenticity And Kendra’s Accent

One thing Marti Noxon did say in the commentary about the accent. She noted that they got a lot of flak about Kendra’s accent. I do remember this on the Bronze, which was message board at the time. And certainly heard and commentaries and criticism that Kendra’s accent seemed to belong to nowhere in particular.

The irony is Marti said they worked really hard with a dialect coach and had a lot of discussions with him. He narrowed it down to this very specific part of Jamaica. I believe she said a particular town because they wanted to have this real sense of Kendra having come from a specific place with specific traditions.

But in that effort to be so specific, it did not match up with what audience members perhaps expected or thought. It didn’t quite sound like a Jamaican accent to them, but it didn’t sound like anything else.

Real Doesn’t Mean Believable

This is a good example of a couple things. One is that sometimes despite your best efforts as a writer you may find that you’re not able to convey to readers what is clear behind the scenes. You can do a ton of research and something can be absolutely correct, and somebody will say, “Oh, this author should’ve done some research on this. They don’t know anything about it or they just made up this thing that’s really dumb.”

One of my nieces is a scenic designer and she got a comment like that on one of her sets. That it wasn’t authentic. It was, but it just wasn’t what that reviewer had in her mind is what that particular culture should look like. Because most people, what they know tends to be what is in the general consciousness. If the reality is different from that, it can be really tricky as an author to walk that line of potentially being too authentic, and people will think it is not correct because it doesn’t fit with what they “know.”

But It Really Happened

I said this was an example of a couple things. The other thing is that just because something is authentic does not mean that it is believable to the reader.

Likewise, I am sure you’ve heard just because something really happened to you or someone you know doesn’t necessarily make it believable. It has to be believable within the world of the story. Sometimes that means that you will need to have a flavor of authenticity but include enough that is familiar to readers and audience members that they will get it.

And the other lesson is you are never going to please everybody. So you do your best to tell your story the way you see it and just accept that there are going to be some criticisms.

Two Slayers

Willow comes into the library. Kendra is shocked to learn that Buffy has friends. And surprised that Giles allows it.

Giles is more amazed by the idea of two Slayers. He says that has never happened before. A new Slayer’s only called if the previous one died. And then he says, “Good Lord, you were dead, Buffy.”

And Buffy says, “I was only gone for a minute.”

Giles says it must not matter. Her death, o matter how brief, caused the activation of the new Slayer.

One Slayer Per Generation

In the commentary, Marti Noxon said that it was Joss Weeden’s idea to bring in this new Slayer because Buffy died. But she wasn’t sure if he planned not from back in Season One. Or if he realized later that since Buffy had died, under his own lore the next Slayer should be called.

I’m struck by the difference in the introduction when we bring Kendra in and raise the idea that there could be more than one potential Slayer at a time. Because up until now we have had that intro from Giles. The voiceover (I think it’s over cemetery that is at the very start of every episode) where he’s reciting some of the Slayer lore. And he says “Into every generation Slayer is born.”

The Voiceover

Interestingly, What’s My Line Part One was the first time that that intro was dropped. And we will not see it again. I wonder if that’s because when they bring in Kendra you realize it’s not that one Slayer is born into each generation.

I think a generation is considered to be about sixteen years. Buffy was sixteen. So if one Slayer is born a generation, the new one would only just be being born. So it’s more accurate but less dramatic to say that a number of possible Slayers are born into every generation. But we only call one at a time.

So we just kind of leave that “Slayer is born” there. It may be referenced again later in the series, but we won’t get that intro anymore. The last time was in Episode Eight of Season Two, The Dark Age.

[Correction: I realized later episodes do include the voiceover, so perhaps it has more to do with running time of an episode. But it was a good theory!]

Buffy’s Not Happy About Another Slayer

After Giles explains this, Kendra says, “She died?”

And Buffy says, “Just a little.”

Giles says it’s unprecedented. He’s flummoxed, having two Slayers. And Buffy says, “What’s the flum?” She’s not dead, so they can send Kendra home. It was a mistake and it creeps her out to have Kendra there. But Kendra says she can’t go home. Her Watcher told her a very dark power is about to rise in Sunnydale.

Buffy is definitely not happy about this. And we are starting to see the effect of this Midpoint Reversal with this new Slayer fighting Buffy. In the last episode, Buffy was really struggling with not being able to have a future like everyone else, not taking part in Career Week in any real way. And feeling saddled with this destiny. But now we are seeing that despite all of that, she does feel pretty strongly about her place as the Slayer. This is important to her, and the idea of someone else in that role as well is an adjustment she will continue to struggle with in this epiosde.

Kendra Learns About Angel

Buffy also sarcastically says to Kendra how is she going to help – by randomly attacking people? And Kendra explains that she thought Buffy was a vampire because Buffy was kissing a vampire. We get some of the best Willow lines in this episode.

Willow says, “Buffy would never do that. Oh.” She looks at Buffy and says, “except sometimes you do that. But only with Angel, right?”

And Buffy says right, and she explains that Angel is good. Giles confirms it. But Kendra says she’s read about Angelus. She calls him a monster and says he looked like a monster when she…. And she trails off

Willie Gets Angel Out Of The Cage

We cut to Willie. He has gotten Angel out of the cage. Angel is really weak. So Willie is able to drag him across the floor and drop him down trap door into a tunnel under Sunnydale. There is water running all over. At some point I think were told that these tunnels are sewer tunnels. It’s pretty clean for a sewer, if very damp. Definitely full of water. I just try not to think too much about whether there’s sewage or not.

Spike meets Willie and gives Willie money for turning over Angel. Willie asks what he’s going to do with Angel. And we get some great Spike dialogue here (and later). Spike says, “I’m thinking maybe dinner and a movie. I don’t want to rush into anything. I’ve been hurt you know.”

Cordelia: Winter And Summer

At Buffy’s house. Cordelia is asking Norman Pfister, who is the assassin who can turn into a mass of worms and back again, about colors from his cosmetic case. Because remember, he’s posing as this cosmetic salesman door-to-door. And she says something like, “You wouldn’t think it, but I am both a winter and a summer.”

Which is a reference to a book that was very popular in 1987. I had a copy. It was called Color Me Beautiful. Discover Your Natural Beauty Through The Colors That Make You Look Great And Feel Fabulous. I had to take a look, and that book is still available on Amazon. Just for fun. I put a link in the show notes in case you want to check it out. Interestingly, Color Me Beautiful now has a website, and whole line of cosmetics.

Anyway, little trip down nostalgia lane.

The Worm Attack

Pfister asks Cordelia if she’s the only lady in the house and she says yes. Xander comes back downstairs just as Cordelia started to get nervous about the robotic way that Pfister is answering her questions about the cosmetics.

He begins to disassemble into worms. Cordelia and Xander run for the basement and slam the door. The worms are crawling under the door. Xander and Cordelia use duct tape to seal up the opening and stamp on worms that have gotten through.

Kendra And Buffy Question Willie

At Willie’s place, the cage is empty and Kendra says there are no ashes, so she didn’t kill Angel. Buffy says that’s a good thing because now she doesn’t have to kill Kendra.

They threaten Willie, but he claims he saved Angel. That Angel is fine. And Kendra says okay, that’s it. Angel’s fine, so they need to go back to the Watcher for orders. Buffy says, “I don’t take orders. I do things my way.” And Kendra says, “No wonder you died.”

One-Quarter Through What’s My Line Part Two

At 11 minutes, 8 seconds in, Spike brings Angel to Drusilla. He says all they need now is the full moon. Angel will die and she’ll be restored.

This is one quarter of the way through the episode. Despite that we have a two-episode story arc here (wo we are already well past that the major One-Quarter plot turn for the overall story), I found it interesting that I still saw some pretty significant turns at the quarter, halfway, and three-quarter marks in this particular .

I think that is part of what keeps it moving along so well.

Drusilla asks Spike to let her have Angel to play with. He says okay, but Angel can’t die until the ritual.

Kendra And Giles Bond

Back at school, Giles is walking with Buffy and Kendra in an outdoor walkway. Willow is also there, and Giles says he and Mr. Zabuto conferred and decided the two Slayers should work together. Buffy is still not thrilled about that.

Giles informs them that Spike is trying to revive Drusilla and tells Kendra he sent the order of Turaka after Buffy. Kendra knows right away who that is. She has read all six volumes of some very dense text about Slayer history. Giles is really impressed by that.

Buffy asks why Kendra knows that and has all this time to study. And Kendra says the Slayer handbook requires that.

The Slayer Handbook

Marti Noxon said in the commentary on the DVD that she made up handbook because she thought it was a funny way to show that there were a bunch of things that Giles sort of bypassed because Buffy’s not really a rule follower. She also noted the writers wanted Kendra to be from a very different world from Buffy to raise the conflict between the two.

So Kendra is more book smart. She has really more in common with Giles than Buffy does. Buffy acts more on instinct.

We get another nice quote from Willow, who expresses surprise about the handbook and then says, “Is there a T-shirt too? Because that would be cool.”

Buffy Thinks About Being Replaced

Buffy asks why she doesn’t have a handbook. And Giles says after meeting her he realized in her case the handbook would be of no use. Buffy is kind of taken aback and says something like, “In my case? What’s wrong with my case?”

She feels worse when Kendra and Giles joke about all the footnotes in that volume that Kendra read. And Buffy says to Willow, “Get a load of the she-Giles.”

Willow reassures Buffy that she’ll always be first with Giles. She’s the real Slayer. But Buffy says maybe it wouldn’t be so bad to be replaced. After this crisis is over maybe Kendra can take over and Buffy will go to Disneyland. And then later have a normal life. Do Career Day stuff.

Back In The Basement

We switch to Cordelia and Xander. Cordelia is pacing in the basement, driving Xander crazy. He tells her to stop. She tells them they should be coming up with the plan.

Xander: “I have a plan. We wait. Buffy saves us.”

Cordelia: How will she even know where to find us?

Xander: Cordelia, this is Buffy’s house. Odds are she’ll find us.

Cordelia And Xander Keep Fighting And Then…

Cordelia wants to go upstairs and check to see if the worm man is gone. Xander yells at her for letting the guy in in the first place just because he offered her some free samples. They argue. He says he’s not stopping her from leaving.

Cordelia: I bet you would. I bet you’d let a girl go to her doom all by herself.

Xander: Not just any girl. You’re special.

They continue to yell at each other, stepping closer and closer until they are less than an inch apart. And they kiss. Romantic music crescendos.

They break apart, and Xander says, “We so need to get out of here.”

Cordelia agrees, and they run for the stairs.

The Bug Man Lives, Oz Appears

They don’t see any worms, so they go out the basement door into the hallway. As they are running for the front door to get outside, worms that have gathered on the ceiling fall down on Cordelia. She runs out to the front yard and screams at Xander to get them off of her.

He sprays her over and over with a garden hose and they run for her car. It squeals away and we see her license plate, Queen C.

We’re now at 17 minutes 42 seconds in. And we are at Career Day in the school. Buffy and Willow are heading towards the law enforcement area. Buffy tells Willow there’s a cute guy checking her out., Willow glances over and says that it’s Oz. He’s just expressing computer nerd solidarity.

But Buffy says then why is he walking over here? And he does come over to Willow.

Oz’s hair is a different shade then we last saw him. And Willow says, “Your hair. Is brown.” And Oz says, “Yes, sometimes.”

Quick Reminders Through Dialogue And Conflict

Notice in these last couple scenes how many quick reminders we get of what happened last week. They are worked in so fast and as part of conflict, so it doesn’t feel like these lines of dialogue are there just to catch us up.

There’s Cordelia with Norman Pfister asking about these free cosmetic samples. The conflict between her and Xander where he’s yelling at her for letting the guy in in the first place. And where it comes out that they are in Buffy’s house.

All of that works, because they are so angry at each other. So they aren’t just saying to each other things the other one knows just toinform the audience. They’re saying it as sort of ammunition against one another.

More Reminders As Buffy Processes Through Conflict

Likewise, we get Buffy’s wish for a normal life and the Career Day background, which all comes out in the context of how she feels about Kendra being there. And we see Buffy processing. First, she was very upset that there was a second Slayer. Then she was a little jealous of Kendra and Giles. But now she is taking all that in and thinking, hey, there might be a good side to this. Maybe I can have a normal life.

Buffy’s Realization

I love that moment from Buffy. It’s such a realization on her part. And I like that while we see throughout the series Buffy acting on gut instinct and emotion, she is also thoughtful about the issue she confronts. Here, she’s able to take a step back and kind of look at all sides of this. And think about what Kendra’s existence means for her.

A long way of saying that all of that is really key for Buffy and the story, but it also gets across this information that either a new viewer would need, or that any viewer might want if they saw Part One a week ago.

Willow, Oz, and Exposition

Similarly, with Oz and Willow, the fact that Buffy points out Oz, thinking he is a stranger, and Willow is able to catch her up also reminds the audience of a lot of things. Including that Willow and Oz have computer skills in common. And we will get a little bit more in dialogue now between Oz and Willow that also feels very organic.

It really comes from the characters in the stories, but it’s also funny or comes from conflict. So it keeps us engaged.

When Writing In Installments

And these are good things to keep in mind when you are writing either in installments or in one novel and you’ve shifted away from a plotline or set of characters for a while. When you come back, it’s a good idea to remind readers very quickly like this what is going on.

You don’t want to overdo it, but just a little bit. Because also with novels, people read at different paces. So one reader might spend three weeks or a month reading your novel and might really need that reminder. Someone else might read it in two days. So you want to use a light touch.

And I feel like it is so perfectly done in this episode.

Oz asks Willow if she will be becoming a corporate computer person and wearing a suit. Willow says, “I think I’m going to finish high school first.” She asks about him. And he says he’s not really a computer guy, he just tests well. Which is bad because it tends to lead to work.

So she asks what interests or ambitions he has. And he starts telling her about his guitar playing and joking about it. So again we get this quick catching up, and we learn a little more about Oz. It’s all very engaging.

An Assassin Strikes

The law enforcement seminar starts. The woman cop that we saw so quickly in the last episode tells the students to raise their hands when she calls their names. She calls Buffy first. When Buffy raises her hand, the cop pulls a gun on her.

Marti Noxon commented that this was written and filmed before the Columbine school shooting. She didn’t think that they would be allowed to do a scene with a shooting in a school now. And that was in the late 90s. Now that there have been so many more school shootings, I think she was right then and is absolutely right if we look at it now.

Buffy does disarm the cop. But there are shots fired because the cop has a second gun.

Oz pushes Willow out of the way and he gets shot in the arm.

Jonathan At Risk

Kendra appears and she kicks the second gun from the cops hand. The cop pulls a knife and grabs a hold of poor Jonathan.

And Marti commented that Danny Strong was their Kenny from South Park who always dies in the episodes. Jonathan doesn’t get killed, but Marti said Danny Strong (the actor who plays Jonathan) does such a good scared face. And they really liked working with him. So he became the guy who was always taken hostage, always victimized. But eventually became more and more of a real character on the show.

And she says she thinks it took the audience a while to realize that this was the same guy.

Kendra And Buffy Stand Together

Buffy and Kendra stand together in the fighting stance, facing toward the cop. And this is nice. It’s the first shot where we see them ready to fight together.

The cop throws Jonathan aside and runs out. Kendra follows, but she is not able to catch her.

Willow goes to Oz and asks if he’s okay. And he says, “Yeah, I’m shot. You know, wow. It’s odd. And painful.”

Jonathan asks if it was a demonstration.

Gathering In the Library

In the library. Buffy tells Giles about what happened. Willow says the paramedics said it was only a scrape and Oz will be okay.

Xander and Cordelia come in and fill everyone in on Norman Pfister. Giles explains to them that Kendra is also a Slayer. And here we get a great quote from Xander, he says to Buffy, “a Slayer. Ha. I knew this ‘I’m the only one, I’m the only one’ was just an attention-getter.”

Kendra stutters and stumbles and looks down when Xander talks. And she calls him Sir. We find out later that she is not allowed to talk to boys at all. Cordelia finds another worm and runs out to take another shower.

Buffy says that these assassins are definitely serious, “but fortunately for me, so is Kendra.”

The Three-Quarter Turn In What’s My Line Part Two

At 22 minutes in, Giles says he found the remaining keys to the spell to revive Drusilla. They need the presence of her sire and his blood, a new moon, and a church.

Buffy reveals that Angel is Dru’s sire.

All of this is happening halfway through the episode and it makes it a good Three-Quarter Turn in the double-episode arc.

So remember our Three-Quarter Turn, like the One-Quarter Twist, spins the story in a new direction. But unlike that first major plot turn, which generally comes from outside the protagonist, this one at the three-quarter mark usually arises from the protagonist’s actions at the Midpoint. Or from that reversal at the Midpoint.

I see the Three-Quarter Turn here as Buffy and Kendra uniting. Which will happen in a moment, and that really does grow from that Midpoint Reversal of Buffy confronting this new Slayer.

On Saving Angel

Willow tells Buffy not to worry. They’ll save Angel.

And Kendra questions that, saying the priority is stopping Drusilla, not saving Angel. Buffy and Giles try to assure her that Angel is really good now and they should save him. And Xander, in another great quote, says, “Angel’s our friend. Except I don’t like him.”

Buffy tells Kendra that right now their priorities mesh, so let’s work together. And Kendra finally says okay.

And I see this is that turn where despite Kendra’s reluctance and Buffy’s continued feelings about Kendra, they decide to work together.

Also Buffy Throw Caution To The Wind

Buffy says she’s had it. Spike is going down. He can throw whatever he wants at her, “but nobody messes with my boyfriend.:

This is also a nice Midpoint Commitment for the episode for Buffy.

Now we see that the entire story shifts. Because it is not just about stopping Spike and Drusilla from reviving Dru or restoring true to her full power. It is about saving Angel.

Angelus’ Work Of Art

Drusilla is torturing Angel with holy water as she talks about things that her mother loved. And what her family liked to do and eat.

Marti Noxon commented that Drusilla is really Angelus’ work of art. It represents the worst or, in Angelus’ mind, the best of what he did as a vampire. The way that he tortured Drusilla and drove her mad before turning her into a vampire.

Angel now feels guilty about this seeing the effect of what he did on Dru. He tries to apologize for torturing and killing her family. But she won’t let him. She says they used to eat cake and eggs and honey. “Until you came and ripped their throats out.”

Angel screams as she tortures him.

Dialogue Filling In The Back Story

This is another example of quick dialogue that fills us in on the past. And gives us a little bit of exposition, but completely fits and moves the story. Because we believe Drusilla would say these things to Angel as she is torturing him.

It also reveals complexity to Drusilla. She is angry at Angel over this still – and I don’t mean still, because a human, of course, would still be angry. She is angry, though, despite being a vampire. Despite that we know Spike has done terrible things, killed people. She probably has as well.

And her vampire self no doubt admires Angel for this (what he did to her). We will see she is very enamored of him and attracted to him. But at the same time, I feel it is a bit of her human self still there that she is still angry at him.

Buffy And Kendra Spar

We switch to Buffy whittling stakes in Giles’ office with Kendra. Kendra’s holding the crossbow. And she criticizes Buffy for all the people who know that she’s the Slayer.

Kendra: Did no one explain secret identity to you?

Buffy: It must’ve been in the Slayer handbook. After the chapter on personality removal.

So there is still a fair amount of tension here. Buffy tells Kendra to be careful with the crossbow. And Kendra says don’t worry, she is an expert in all types of weapons.

The crossbow goes off and we hear a crash. Giles calls in to find out if they’re all right. Buffy says, “Yeah, it’s okay. Kendra killed the bad lamp.”

Kendra apologizes to Giles. She tells Buffy the trigger is different than the one she’s used to.Bbut then she kind of softens and says maybe when this is over Buffy can show her more about this one.

It’s a nice moment between them where Kendra recognizes Buffy’s expertise and lets down her guard a little bit.

Kendra’s Vulnerability

She then says that Buffy’s life is different from hers. That Kendra was taught that things like friends, school, family, distract from the calling. Her parents gave her to her Watcher when she was so little that she doesn’t even remember her parents. That’s how seriously her people take the calling.

This all so is so different from Buffy’s experience. Buffy didn’t know she was the Slayer until – and this would this happened in the movie – until the previous Slayer died and she was called. She had no idea. But we see in other parts of the world, there is this tradition where a girl might know she’s a potential Slayer. And her family would know, and she would start preparing.

Kendra sees Buffy looking a little sad and says, “Don’t feel sorry for me.”

Kendra doesn’t feel sorry for herself, and she tells Buffy that she shouldn’t entertain emotions. That it’s weakness.

Emotions As Power

But Buffy argues her emotions give her power. Kendra says she prefers to keep an even mind. And Buffy says something like, “That explains a lot.” She says Kendra’s technique is better than her own. To which Kendra says, “I know.” But Buffy says she would’ve won the fight between the two of them in the end because Kendra lacks imagination.

She goes on and on in this vein, goading Kendra until Kendra gets mad.

And Buffy says, “That’s anger you’re feeling,” and asks her doesn’t she feel the power? Anger “gives you fire and the Slayer needs that.”

As they’re talking. Buffy gets an idea about Willie and how he might be able to help them.

Angel Taunts Spike (And We Get More Exposition)

We switch to Spike. He tells Drusilla it’s time to go to the church. Dru seems disappointed because she’s not done torturing Angel. Spike says Angel will die soon enough.

Spike: I’ve never been much for the preshow.

Angel: Too bad. That’s what Drusilla likes best as I recall.

Spike: What’s that supposed to mean?

Angel goes on in that vein, taunting Spike and suggesting he (Angel) knows better what Drusilla likes. Drusilla seems to agree, and Angel tells her that she should let him give Spike some pointers. He tells Spike that he can tell Drusilla is not satisfied.

And then he says, “Or maybe you two just don’t have the fire we had.”

Spike is angry. He’s about to kill Angel. Drusilla stops him because Angel is her cure. And Spike says, “Oh, right you almost got me. Aren’t you the throw-himself-to-the-lions sort of sap these days?”

He goes on to say that if he kills Angel now, Drusilla won’t have a chance. And Buffy and all her friends will be spared Dru’s coming out party. Spike is not falling for it. Angel has to die slowly during the ritual.

Willie Pleads Ignorance

At Willie’s place, Willie claims he doesn’t know where Angel is. Kendra tells Buffy to just hit him. Finally, Willie says he’ll have to take Buffy there himself.

Kendra argues with Buffy, saying they must return to Giles for instructions, it’s procedure. Buffy says she if she doesn’t go with Willie now Angel could die. And Kendra says, “He’s a vampire. He should die.” She leaves and Buffy goes off with Willie. As we’ll see later, though they do continue to disagree, Kendra and Buffy are fighting to fake Willie out.

Nearing The Climax Of What’s My Line Part Two

We are now going to move toward the climax of the two-part episode. Before that, though, a quick break.

I have gotten some questions about how the book edition of Buffy and the Art of Story Season One is going. As I’m recording this, I am proofreading. So I hope to release it over the next two weeks. It may even be out now (as you listen). If it is, I’ll have a link in the show notes.

The Book Buffy And The Art Of Story Season One, Jessica Jones, And A New Mystery

Each episode is a chapter. I added at the end some questions to think about for your own writing based on what we see in that episode. There is a short chapter covering all the plot points as well.

I’ve also gotten asked about my breakdown of Jessica Jones, the pilot episode. It is there on Patreon for patrons. You can become a patron for as little as a dollar a month. Just go to www.Patreon/LisaMLlilly I will put a link in the show notes to the post with the Jessica Jones audio.

Finally, it is early April. As I record, so many states have a shelter in place order now due to the Covid-19 virus. I’ve been trying to think of something fun to do. I had been hoping to do a reading and a book release party for my third mystery, The Fractured Man. It has been out for a while in e-book form and available as a paperback through Amazon. But six weeks ago I got the proof copy of the paperback edition that is now available through bookstores. So I wanted to do an in-person event for that rather than wait. Because I feel like I need something fun. And maybe other people do too. I decided to do it as an online event. It’ll be through Facebook. I will also post quite a bit on my site. You can find information Lisa Lilly.com/Fractured. It’ll be on April 23 at 7:30 PM Central.

Tech Support

Oh, and one last thing. During this time when so many small businesses are struggling, I’ve been trying to do what I can to support different ones. I’ve ordered books from independent bookstores. Another thing is I want to tell you about is a small business that I use and work with: TheDigitalReader.com Nate Hoffelder. He is both an author and a computer-tech-Internet expert. He can handle backups for your website, security, and bug fixes. Maybe the best part of his monthly concierge service is that he will fight with tech support when you need it so that you don’t have to.

I know just enough to be dangerous about creating my website and updating it. So I love being able to just email Nate and say, “Hey, this thing on my site is not working right.” And as I said in the email I sent out to my list, I’m pretty convinced he actually lives in the computer. Because I email him and he responds almost immediately.

I will have a link in the show notes to www.thedigitalreader.com as well if you would like to check out or need services.

Willie Comes Through

Back to Buffy. At 31 minutes 58 seconds in Willie brings Buffy to the church. And he says to her, “There you go. Don’t ever say your good friend Willie don’t come through in a pinch.”

A moment later, they turn the corner and there are two of the assassins and couple vampires. And Willie says to them, “There you go. Don’t ever say your good friend Willie don’t come through in a pinch.”

Inside the chapel, Spike is reciting the words of the spell. And he’s waving around this large metal container on a chain. Incense is burning inside the container. As he swings it on the chain, it disperses smoke.

I saw these so many times as a kid growing up. Because this container is used for incense in the Catholic mass, and probably in other religions as well. But I had to look up what it’s called. It is a thurible.

Spike waves that around. He also waves a cross. Dru and Angel are standing near the altar bound together. Angel, still looking very weakened, unconscious. And Spike says, From the blood of the sire she is risen.” There is a huge flash of light. Spike says now that they’ve come to a boil he just needs to let them simmer over a low flame.

Episode The Three-Quarter Turn

Willie walks in right at that moment with Buffy and tells Spike, “I got your Slayer.” He is quite pleased with himself.

This is a nice Three-Quarter Turn (maybe a little bit late) for this episode because it spins it in yet another new direction. Because now Buffy is right where she wants to be. In this church. And Spike has got to deal with the Slayer. It all came out of his own actions.

Spike is not pleased. He can’t believe Willie brought the Slayer here. But Willie says he heard there was a bounty for Buffy, dead or alive. And he wants the bounty.

Buffy sees Angel and Drusilla and realizes the ritual is done. She whispers, “Angel.” Spike tells her not to worry, Angel will be dead in five minutes and out of his suffering. And that’s five minutes more than Buffy has.

But Kendra enters doing flips and knocking out one of the vampires.

Dialogue Lines Sparks A Story

Then we get the classic lines from this episode.

Spike: Who the hell is this?

Buffy: It’s your lucky day, Spike.

Kendra: Two Slayers.

Buffy: No waiting.

Marti said that in some ways the whole episode grew from Joss thinking of the two Slayers, no waiting line. And she added that that’s a little bit of an exaggeration. But there are episodes that grow out of one great line.

Should You Kill Your Darlings?

I think that’s so interesting because I talked before about that writing rule of you should kill your darlings. Because often it’s a line or joke or something that you just love that doesn’t really belong in the story. But maybe it’s not surprising that Joss Whedon’s show and the writers he works with would subvert that too. Because Marti is saying, hey, okay, instead of killing your darlings, you might just create a whole story around them.

And maybe that is the answer. If you have something that you love so much in a story – that line, whatever it is – but you realize it doesn’t really fit there, maybe that’s it. It is a great line. It is a great joke. And you can pull it out and create something new around it. There are worse ways to come up with a story idea.

The Climax Of What’s My Line Part Two Begins

So we are now at the Climax of this two-part episode. Everybody is here because Giles, Xander, Willow, and Cordelia have come with Kendra. Fighting breaks out all over the place.

Xander taunts “Larva Boy” and draws Pfister (the worm man) into a separate room. He and Cordelia already smeared a very thick paste on the floor. They slam the door. When the worms ooze under the door, they get stuck in the paste. And Xander and Cordelia stamp on them. There is a really nice moment where Cordelia keeps stamping after all these worms are clearly dead. And Xander stops her. It’s very quick, but I feel like he is very kind about that. And I like that moment of them working together. And of him understanding why Cordelia is so intent on killing every last worm.

Buffy Fights Spike

Buffy and Kendra are fighting separately. And Buffy says, “Switch.”

They do move where one somersaults over the other and they are facing different opponents. Buffy is now facing Spike. And Spike says, “I’d rather be fighting you anyway.” Buffy says, “Mutual.” This is more of that worthy adversary concept I talked about in School Hard when they first met. Both of them prefer to fight someone they regard as an equal in strength and skill.

Buffy knocks Spike away for the moment and runs to save Angel and kill Drusilla. But Spike manages to intervene.

Willow and Giles, working together, slay a vampire.

Kendra Gets Angry And Buffy Knocks Spike Out

The cop assassin is fighting Kendra. The cop rips Kendra’s shirt. Kendra gets very angry. She says something like, “You ripped my favorite shirt. You ripped my only shirt!” And her anger does give her more power, and she prevails.

Spike flings a lit torch and part of the church goes up in flames. He retrieves Drusilla and tries to carry her away. Buffy, while staying near Angel, grabs that thurible (so now you know why I took the time to look up what it is and to describe it to you) and swings it in circles over her head to get momentum. She flings it at Spike. It hits him and knocks him down into a giant pipe organ.

The pipe organ breaks and splinters and cascades down on Drusilla and Spike, burying them.

Falling Action In What’s My Line Part Two

We are now to the Falling Action. Buffy cradles Angel after getting him out of his bonds. She’s touching his face. There’s soft music.

Kendra comes over to them and says, “Let’s get him out of here.” They all leave as the flames engulf the church.

Oz And Willow Again

The next day Oz is getting animal crackers out of the vending machine at school. His arm is in a sling. Willow asks how the arm is. Oz smiles and says, “Suddenly painless.”

Willow asks if he can still play the guitar okay. And Oz says, “Well, not well. But not worse.”

Willow tries to thank him for saving her life but he says she’ll embarrass him and starts talking instead about the animal crackers. He’s joking about why is it that the monkey is the only one who gets to wear clothes. And how the monkey must mock the other animals. In the middle he tells Willow she has the sweetest smile. And then goes right on talking about the animal crackers.

He does a French accent for the monkey, and Willow says, “The monkey is French?” Oz says all monkeys are French. You didn’t know that?”

Cordelia And Xander

Cordelia avoids Xander in the hall. But he follows her and he says they need to talk. They go into an empty classroom. He tells her there’s no reason they should avoid each other. She agrees, but the two argue about who kissed who first. They bicker some more. They finally agree it won’t happen again, and neither one of them will say anything to anyone else. But they get closer and closer and kiss again. And we have more romantic music.

Kendra And Buffy Give Each Other Advice

Buffy and Kendra walk out of the school towards a taxi. Buffy loaned Kendra one of her shirts. She tells Kendra to get on the plane with her ticket and not to ride in the cargo hold. Kendra agrees but still protests that doing it that way is not traveling incognito. But Buffy tells her she earned the plane ride. She also advises her to watch the movie unless it’s about a dog or Chevy Chase.

Buffy thanks Kendra for helping her save Angel. Kendra says it’s too strange – a Slayer in love with a vampire. She won’t be telling her Watcher about it. Still, Angel is “pretty cute.” And Buffy says, “Well, maybe they won’t fire me for dating him.”

And Kendra says, “You always do that.” When Buffy asks what, Kendra says Buffy talks about slaying as if it’s a job. And she then says it’s not. “It’s who you are.”

Buffy asks where Kendra got that – was it from the handbook? Kendra gives a little smile and says, “From you.” They art on a friendly note as Kendra gets into the taxi.

That would seem like the end of the Falling Action. We have wrapped up all main plot and all the subplots. But now we get one more scene and it’s a game changer.

The Game Changer

A cliffhanger is where you don’t wrap up the main plot. Usually you leave your protagonist in great peril and the reader or the audience member has to come back for the next installment to find out what happens. And resolve that main plot.

In contrast, with the game changer, we have resolved the main plot. So you have presumably satisfied your reader, satisfied your audience. But something happens that changes the field of play. Changes the world going forward.

And here we have perhaps the best one in Buffy. (I feel like I can’t say that, as there’s so much good in Buffy.) I’m sure I’ll come across something that I think is just as good, but this one is really amazing. Because Spike is lying under the boards in the burnt-out church. And we see Drusilla. She is in vamp face. She is standing, and she lifts Spike with one hand until his feet are off the ground. Then she swings him up into her arms and tells him not to worry. “I’ll see that you get strong again. Like me.”

The End Of What’s My Line Part Two

What a great ending, I am pretty sure when I first saw this, I thought Spike and Drusilla were done. Because we saw them under the pipe organ. We saw the church burning. Our main characters leave. Then we find out not only have both survived, but the ritual was complete. Drusilla is revived, even though Angel did not die.

So I can’t wait to talk about what happens after that.

Before I go on to Spoilers one other thing I found really interesting from the DVD commentary.

(I didn’t cover everything here because there’s just so much in there. But I’ll try to work in a little bit of it in later episodes. Or you can get the DVDs and watch yourself. I said before I think these commentaries are so helpful, especially for writers. Plus they’re fun.)

Why A Two-Part Episode

This comment is about writing. Marti Noxon talked about why they did a two-part episode. She said at first they weren’t planning that. But there was so much lore to put in about Slayers and about how Kendra could be there at all, and about her background, that they needed more space. And she said that sometimes a with two-part stories there really is only enough story for about one and a half of an episode.

But that is network TV. The episodes have to be a certain length. And she said you can end up with filler. But she felt really happy with this one. She felt like the two part really worked here, and there wasn’t anything that was there just for filler.

I agree with that. I thought that worked so well. Also, I thought that structure worked really well in our two-part pilot. But in the Spoilers. I will talk about a time where (before I ever heard this commentary) I did feel like there was filler. And I did feel like there was about a one and half of an episode there.

If you are not sticking around for Spoilers, thank you so much for listening.

I hope you will come back next Monday when we will see John Ritter guest star in Ted.

Spoilers

And we’re back for Spoilers.

Activating Slayers

When Giles says that Buffy’s death must’ve activated a new Slayer, I was so struck by that word. Because when I saw Season Seven – both the first time and on other rewatches – I was certain that “activating” a Slayer was new language. I don’t know why, but I just never liked that term in Season Seven. And I thought it was something that got created because they decided to do this storyline with all these potential Slayers.

So it opened my eyes and gave me more faith in the long-term planning here. Or maybe not planning but in the continuity when I heard that Giles actually said a new Slayer was activated.

Kendra having been given to her Watcher early, I feel like that foreshadows some of Season Seven as well. There we will see that some of the potential Slayers (at least one I remember) had a Watcher. And the one says something about she saw a photo of a vampire, though she never fought one.

But other girls, like Buffy, had no idea they were potential Slayers.

So this contrast between Buffy and Kendra does foreshadow all these young girls coming from different circumstances, with different amounts of what they know or don’t know about the Slayer lore, before they are brought together in Season Seven.

Ripping Throats Out

Drusilla – that dialogue where she talks about Angel ripping her family members’ throats out. And really all their back-and-forth dialogue foreshadows all the ways that Angel will torment Buffy. All of this really raises the audience’s fears when that starts happening.

And what I love is the way it so works in this episode. I had no idea when I watched this that that was part of the purpose of it. Yet now, looking at it, I’m sure that it is.

Two-Episode Stories

Going back to the comment about two parters and how sometimes there’s only enough story for one and a half episodes. That is how I felt about the Season Six opener. That is where Buffy comes back from the dead after dying not just for a minute (as in the end of Season One), but where it looks she’s been dead for quite some time.

When we came back at the beginning of Season Six, I was so looking forward to that episode. And I seem to remember they played both parts in one night. So I was excited about that as well, that we would get to see that whole story arc. Then I saw it. And I did feel like there wasn’t quite enough story for two episodes.

Too Much Motorcycle Riding

In particular, the extended (or what felt like extended scenes to me) of these demon motorcycle gangs riding really dragged. I felt when I first watched a bit frustrated because I wanted so much to love this season premiere. And there were amazing things in it. When I look back, there is just so much that is good. But I kind of wish they could’ve cut a bit of it.

So I found that really fascinating that Marti said that sometimes they had to put in things that they even as the writers felt were filler.

Coming Soon: Mr. Pointy

Another comment Marti made was a little bit of a mistake. In the commentary she referred a scene between Buffy and Kendra when Kendra is talking about how she grew up. And Marti said “Oh, I think this is where we learn the Kendra calls her stake Mr. Pointy.” I doublechecked, and that happens in the two-part episode that ends this season, so the season finale. Kendra says she calls her stake Mr. Pointy and Buffy says, “Remind me to get you a stuffed animal.”

That is, though a really nice example in the finale of reminding the readers a little bit about Kendra’s background very quickly. And showing that growing empathy Buffy has for Kendra.

And Marti noted, and I don’t think it was about that moment specifically, that with Kendra and Buffy generally that we see this hint that they could have become friends. A hint of friendship even though they would always have conflict because of their differences. But because we have that, when Drusilla kills Kendra in the finale it hits Buffy so hard. Both because of that and because she couldn’t stop it.

Oz And Test Scores

On a lighter note, Oz commenting that he tests well and unfortunately that leads to work, foreshadows the beginning of Season Three. He was a year ahead of them but is still in school with them when the season starts. And he says to Willow remember how he didn’t graduate? It’s because he didn’t do all the coursework, and she says that’s what summer school was for. And he says remember how he didn’t go?

So he is repeating his last year. The first time I saw it, I thought that was just because Oz really developed into a great character, and they were able to get the actor for another year and so needed to explain why he is still in high school with them.

I find it so interesting that here he makes that comment, and he says right out, he doesn’t want to do the work. So that that actually fits. And I’m going to reassess and say maybe they always had this plan for Oz. They knew that he was going to hang around another year. Or maybe they just took advantage of something that was built up so well in his character and used it to work in a plot development that they needed.

Writing Yourself Into A Corner Isn’t All Bad

This is a great way in your own stories, if you have to deal with something unexpected or you have written yourself into a corner, look back at what you have set up for those characters. There might very well be something there that will save you and could take the story in a really exciting direction you haven’t thought about before.

Next Week

That is it for this episode.

If you found the plot points and turns and story elements discussed in this episode helpful you may also want to check out Super Simple Story Structure: A Quick Guide To Plotting And Writing Your Novel. You can get a free PDF edition by signing up as a patron (at the $5/month level). Or if you would rather listen, you can purchase the book through Audible or using audible credit or you can request it at your local library or look for it wherever you purchase audiobooks.

Thank you so much for listening.

I hope you will come back next Monday when Joyce has a new boyfriend named Ted, played by John Ritter.