What's My Line - Part Two
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Follows on from What's My Line - Part One.
Buffy freaks as Kendra identifies herself as the Slayer. They realize that Kendra was summoned as the new Slayer when Buffy died -- temporarily drowned, that is. Kendra, too, knows that evil is coming. Near death at daybreak, Angel is dragged from the cell by the guy from the bar -- he dumps him in a sewer and turns him over to Spike and Drusilla. When the new moon comes that night, they will perform the ritual they figured out from the transcriber and Angel will die.
Giles seems to be bonding with Kendra, making Buffy feel left out. Now that there's a spare slayer, Buffy considers giving up the business. At Buffy's house, Cordelia chats merrily with the cosmetics guy until she realizes he has bugs crawling all over him. He turns into a huge pile of them, sending Cordelia and Xander into hiding, and they fight over what to do. In the heat of the argument, they kiss passionately (?!). They manage to escape and speed off in Cordy's car. At Sunnydale High, Willow chats with Oz, her male computer nerd counterpart, about their similar Career Fair paths. A police woman supervising the fair suddenly opens fire on Buffy and accidentally shoots Oz, but Kendra comes to Buffy's rescue. When the gang assembles in the library, Giles announces he's figured out the ritual: Angel will die that night. Buffy and Kendra go to the bar to try to get help finding Angel, but Kendra bails, convinced that Angel is evil. Meanwhile, Drusilla is having a field day with her ex-tormentor Angel, dousing him with holy water and watching him writhe in pain. The Bar Guy leads Buffy to the church, which is filled with evil Tenaka bounty hunters. Buffy watches in horror as Drusilla holds onto the tied-up Angel, sapping his power. As the policewoman assassin goes to shoot Buffy, Kendra enters to save her. Willow, Xander, Cordelia and Giles burst in and help, too. Xander and Cordelia wait for Bug Guy to, well, bug out, then they pour glue all over him and stomp on the helpless creatures. Buffy releases Angel, but Spike sets the room on fire and grabs Dru. Before they're able to escape, Buffy hurls something at them and sends them crashing into a huge organ, squooshing them both. The charm-free Kendra leaves town, and Buffy is the Number One Slayer once again. But all is not well. Emerging from the rubble in the church is Drusilla, now fully vamped out and strong enough to carry the injured Spike to safety. She's back, and she's bad.
More Information
The arrival of Kendra is something of a distraction, and temporarily collapses the momentum of the story. It also serves to punish inattentive viewers, who wouldn't remember that, since Kendra is not one of the three assassins, there was still one assassin unaccounted for! There's a palpable feel of déjà vu about the basic plot outline (the vampires summon help to destroy the Slayer, who is interfering in their plans for world domination). It's becoming a recognisable formula for too many episodes. With the luxury of two episodes at their disposal, Gordon and Noxon should perhaps have delivered something rather more ambitious and substantial.
There are two plot ideas that are particularly rewarding. The contrast between Kendra and Buffy, who have radically different approaches to their role as Slayer, is nicely realised, especially when Buffy has to admit to and justify her relationship with Angel. The differences between Buffy and Kendra serve, too, to more closely define Buffy's ethics and methods. They also provide some clues about how Giles and Buffy's relationship might have developed under different circumstances.
Also notable is the odd ménage a trois evident between Spike, Drusilla and Angel. Her vindictive torturing of Angel reveals a lot of back-story, and perfectly sets up the episode's coda, where Drusilla rises from the wreckage of the showdown with the Slayers, her strength - if not her sanity - restored.
Xander and Cordelia's blossoming relationship is a welcome addition, correcting an imbalance in the Scooby gang's group dynamic created when Buffy crushed Xander's hopes that their friendship would lead to a more adult relationship (in Prophecy Girl).
Trivia
Buffy warns Kendra not to watch the in-flight movie if it's got Chevy Chase in it, perhaps a sly reference to the 1988 film 'Funny Farm', which featured Sarah Michelle Gellar in a tiny role as a student.
Willow and Giles both kill vampires for the first time in this episode. (Xander accidentally killed his friend, Jesse, who had become a vampire, in Welcome To The Hellmouth).
The third assassin, the Policewoman at the career fair, is named Patrice.
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