| Character - by Siobhan | ||||||||
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| Go Fish was not very strong in the character arena, unlike previous episodes. Giles seemed to be there only as someone to bounce Buffy's jokes off of, and Xander and Cordelia seemed to have stalled in place. Snyder did not reveal much more than we knew of him in first season, and even Buffy, aside from her brooding about her reputation (which I believe we all are quite clear on), was rather lacklustre. The only really noticeable character in the whole episode was Willow.
We've seen Willow slowly blossom in to a stronger, more confident young woman through her taking on the teaching of the computer class. But at the same time, as we saw with her attempt to talk with Gage, she still has her insecurities. Even though she is seen as an authority figure of sorts by her students, she can't seem to shake her fear of those who seem 'stronger' than she is, and that is why I believe she couldn't stand up to Gage, or even Snyder. She's more confident when she feels she has control over a situation and a person, as in the case of her interrogation of Jonathon. I hope that we'll see more of Willow's growth as the show goes along because it's nice to see someone who was considered 'mousey' only a year ago becoming a self-confident, powerful woman. So, despite the nice bits with Willow, I still can only give this episode 3 out of 5 'Ehs'. |
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| Story - by Wendy | ||||||||
This episode was one of the weakest I've seen in the way of storyline. The basic premise of the drive to win at all costs without any regard for the consequences was a very promising concept for a Buffy episode but the execution played havoc with the idea of credibility. With the exception of Cordelia, none of the characters developed in any way, either positively or negatively. Loose and disjointed, the episode seemed to be thrown together in a hurry. It opens on a beach victory party as an introspective Buffy meets Cameron, a member of the recently successful, now highly popular swim team as she intervenes in the hazing of Jonathan with little thanks. As the bully, Dodd, takes a calming walk on the sands, a teammate notices a foul odour at the same time as Dodd's appearance and we glimpse his shed skin as a shadowy figure scurries into the sewer outlet. The win at all costs attitude is shown first by Principal Snyder as he subtly demands a passing grade for Gage, one of the swimmers, from Willow, filling in as a substitute teacher. The words, "team player" are, in today's workforce, an alternate phrase for the "do not rock the boat" attitude demanded by executives. "Certain people are entitled to special privileges. They are called winners, that's the way the world works" explains Cordelia, the least idealistic of the group. A budding relationship is shattered when Cameron inexplicably does a Jekyll/Hyde transformation and Buffy is forced to defend herself from his sexual attentions. The first crack in credibility - why the sudden change and attack, in broad daylight, on school grounds with many witnesses? Cam didn't strike me as a dummy and there surely had been more opportunity on prior occasions. As Cam's broken nose is attended to by the school nurse, his cowardly accusation of being enticed by Buffy's choice of attire is typical of most sexual predators, the Coach's admonition to her that "this is not a dance hall" certainly echoes my own view that her outfits are totally unsuitable for school and does not reflect current school attire, even at its most extreme. In the library, the group discuss the discovery of Dodd's body, surmising that there is a beast who digests human innards, leaving the skin shell behind. Meanwhile, after a steam room session, Cam enters the cafeteria and suddenly notes a foul smell. Hearing an anguished scream, Xander rushes in and seeing Cam's empty skin, is confronted by the '90's style Creature from the Black Lagoon. Operating on the assumption that someone is out to sabotage the team, Willow's Gestapo-style interrogation of Jonathan is one of the funnier scenes. Angel's only appearance is when he bites Gage, and is revulsed by the taste of his blood. After foiling Angel's attack, Buffy becomes Gage's bodyguard. The following day, Buffy, hearing screams, charges into the change room to witness Gage ripping open his skin to emerge as a sea creature as yet another watches. Bitten in the ensuing battle, she is saved by the appearance of the Coach, who naturally claims total ignorance. As school records indicate that the three changelings have a medical history with symptoms characteristic of steroid use, the gang conclude that Nurse Greeley must be aware of the abuse. Buffy assigns Xander, who has joined the swim team as an "undercover" agent, to ferret out information as to the source of the drugs. Buffy and Giles go fishing for the creatures with a tranquilizer gun in perhaps the most meaningless scene of the episode. No dialogue is spoken nor action taken, just approximately 68 seconds of Buffy and Giles skulking through the sewers while one of the fishmen watch. Xander joins the team in the steam room and discovers that steroids are being administered through the steam as in "aromatherepy". This is the point of no return. Even in a series about vampires, surely the writers could contrive a less ludicrous scenario. Drugs causing massive DNA/physical changes being absorbed through the skin? Does no one else use the steam room? Is there no girl's team? Aromatherepy uses oils and scents to react on the emotional/metal state of the user. Nurse Greeley wants to discontinue the steroids contrary to the Coach's rationale of the team winning at all costs, yet in a prior discussion with Snyder, he acknowledged that he must have a minimum amount of swimmers to compete. With a derisive "Quitter!", he tosses the corpulent Nurse into a amazingly handy sewer as dinner for his "boys". Confronting Buffy, Coach reveals that after the fall of the Soviet Union, documents detailing experiments with fish DNA were found that only he managed to crack. Huh? A high school swim coach untangling secret chemical and technical data, something that "they" couldn't do?? And all this to win the State Championship? Buffy of course gets the heave-ho into the sewer as dessert for the creatures. Cordelia has one of the funnier scenes as she mistakes one of the fishmen for Xander and soliloquizes her love and faithfulness, finally promising to bring him pool toys etc. Buffy fights off the three creatures until Xander arrives to extricate her, after knocking out the much burlier Coach with an elbow. Recovering, Coach tries a rear attack and instead slides headfirst into the killing hands of his charges. The episode ends with a touching scene of three creatures heading out to the horizon. Except my final question is where is Shaun, who according to my count was the fourth creature and was last seen gamboling in the pool?? Enough said |
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| Villian - by Kaboo | ||||||||
| This week's episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer gives us a different kettle of fish as far as villains are concerned. Go Fish sees Buffy battling a more earthly group of villains. Except for the gills, these types of villains might be found anywhere.
The first villainous act in the show is right at the beginning, when Dodd (the best swimmer on the team) torments a classmate, Jonathon. As Buffy later states, the swim team members "have been acting like jerks," taking advantage of the prestige and "perks" that their winning streak has afforded them. At first glance it appears that the swimmers' new personalities are caused by arrogance and the pressures to be state champions, transforming them into campus bullies, but (apparently) not the supernatural villains Buffy usually confronts. Strangely, it is Angelus, in an attempt to "recruit" yet another of Buffy's classmates to the ranks of the undead, who reveals the true nature of the swimmers personality changes.. His aversion to Gage's blood is the first concrete hint that the swimmers are chemically altering they're performance, which is later confirmed by Willow's investigation. Unwittingly, Angel has helped them to solve part of the mystery. The steroids turn the swim team members into monsters, both literally and figuratively. Both Cameron and Gage show positive sides of their personalities, indicating that their change in behaviour is due to the steroids. The night of the bonfire, Cameron tells Buffy he won't pressure her, and seems to be sincere; Gage adores Buffy after she saves him from Angel. However, the boys act differently under the influence of the drug: Cam tries to attack Buffy; after Gage transforms into a fish creature, he too tries to attack Buffy (just seconds after appealing to her for help in his human form.) In agreeing to take steroids to become champions, the swimmers sell their souls, becoming creatures of the "blue lagoon" (as Cordelia calls it.) It becomes clear that the powers that be at Sunnydale High encourage the boys' bad behaviours. Principal Snyder, working on his secret agenda to boost the high school's reputation and downplay Hellmouth happenings, pressures Willow to unethically raise Gage's failing grade so that the boy can continue to help the swim team win. Later, in accusing Buffy of provoking Cameron, rather than recognizing that Cam's sexual harassment of Buffy, Snyder again showed his callousness and tunnel-vision. It's obvious that Snyder cares nothing for the boys, forgetting the best swimmer's name; his only priority is the reputation of Sunnydale High. The Coach also places winning above the swim team's well-being. Although he says he only wants to "inspire his boys to greatness," it becomes obvious that he only cares about "the win." His conversation with Nurse Greenliegh shows that he is the one responsible for administering the altered steroids, caring nothing for the consequences the boys must endure. His concern for the changed boys is convenient, for they need feeding just when the Nurse objects to the Coach's continued experiments. Similarly, his concern for the boys "other needs" conveniently coincides with his confrontation with Buffy. Justice is partly served when the Coach suffers the fate he intended for Buffy, but it does not help the boys who are transformed. They remain monsters, who are able to gain some sense of peace only by returning to the ocean. It is important to note that the major villains in this episode display rampant misogyny: Snyder refuses to acknowledge Buffy's complaints of sexual harassment; the swimmers resent Buffy for interfering with their bullying or for not "giving out"; the Coach rebukes Buffy's fashion as not appropriate, and later sees her only as an object to meet his team's "other needs"; and Cam and Angel refer to Buffy as a "bitch." In this way, the villains are perhaps more ordinary, demonstrating villainous behaviour that is common place in the world. The episode becomes allegorical, calling viewers to recognize and change attitudes in their own world, instead of simply watching Buffy beat the baddies. While the villains in this episode are more mundane, for the most part, than others Buffy has fought, they do serve a purpose in targeting important issues viewers might need to deal with in real life. I give this episode 3 out of 5 Ehs. |
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