Buffy Reviews

     Nearly all of the ep takes place at the local hospital, which, in the Buffyverse, is a place where bad things are made worse. Conventionally, we think that people who go to hospital start out bad and get better. Here, they start out bad, get worse, and are only saved by the intervention of the Slayer. In both KBD and Nightmares sick children (the flu-kids vs. Billy Palmer) are in the hospital when things start to deteriorate. In Nightmares, Billy's trauma causes his nightmares to affect other people, and in KBD, the children's illness makes them easy targets for the Kinderstaat.

     The best plot point in the ep is the twist where Dr. Backer is revealed to be a good guy (albeit a good guy with a short lifespan) rather than the bad guy. And Backer seemed like the perfect villain: rude, single-minded, a little overly dedicated to his research. Most Buffy episodes have a straightforward plot where you can guess the villain within a few minutes, and the fun is in waiting for the Slayerettes to catch on. Occasionally, like in Puppet Show or this one, the writer sets us up to believe a good guy is actually a villain, and then twists it around halfway through the ep. That was a welcome surprise.

     Dr. Backer and Dr. Wilkins are polar opposites, although both are caring doctors. Wilkins is conventional and unimaginative. When she sees Buffy's broken wrist has no swelling at all, she is surprised, but doesn't probe further. She doesn't seem to want to explore things she doesn't understand. She is committed to the flu-kids, but her conventional treatment has far less chance of helping them than Dr. Backer's. He, on the other hand, is willing to cut corners and experiment in order to save lives. He's also willing, as shown by the censures Willow digs up on him, to go against the medical establishment if that's what it takes to get his research done. I didn't much like it when he ended up dead.

     I felt the best plot point was one that only got a little tiny mention and was immediately shelved in favour of a more conventional story. Giles said that perhaps Backer could be the one responsible for the death and *still* be the monster, because sometimes small children see our true faces, the ones we are able to hide from adults. That is a very intriguing idea and I'd love to see a Buffy ep which uses that concept. Alas, this was not that ep.

     Another positive point is that making the victims small, helpless children was really inspired. When the victims are egotistical swim jocks, for instance, it's hard to make an emotional investment and really want the killer stopped. But when children, *sick* children no less, are being slaughtered, you really want the whole thing to end. The kids' touching faith in Buffy the superhero was also very cool. And having Ryan take the children down to the basement gave the plot a bit of a kick. It wasn't the smartest thing to do given that Buffy was on her way, but he didn't know she'd figured out a way to save them. It was good that little Ryan took all the kids, rather than just running off somewhere by himself and letting the Kinderstaat feast on the other, weaker ones.      Angelus's two appearances didn't do much for the plot. In his first scene, he simply emphasizes the fact that the Slayerettes are not to be trifled with. They're not only able to take care of themselves, they can take care of Buffy when they have to. His second scene cranks the Xander/Angelus rivalry up into high gear, as he reveals to Xander that he's known Buffy in the biblical sense. I had assumed before this ep that Xander already knew that, but based on his reaction I'd say it was a surprise, and not a welcome one. Xander's line "You're gonna die. And I'm gonna be there." foreshadows plot points that are important later in the season in Becoming. He wants Angelus (or Angel, he doesn't seem to be distinguishing the two very well) dead, simple as that.

     In a continuity sense, Cordy made it clear that she knows damn well Xander isn't 100% over Buffy (his lingering infatuation with her is obvious previous to this ep in BBB and Phases, and after in Becoming I & II).

     Cordelia was a major player in the plot sense, for once. She got attacked and nearly killed by Angelus, had the thankless job of pointing out the obvious about Buffy's paranoia (sure the obvious was wrong, but she wasn't to know that), helped steal files from a store room, Mata Hari-ed a security guard (thus making sure Xander didn't get arrested for breaking and entering, but did he thank her? Noooo.), kept him fed even though she was furious with him, and was the one who discovered who the Kinderstaat was. But nobody onscreen noticed her help at all. I didn't see why Giles was so snappy with her in the library. OK, so her concentration skills could use some work, but she was genuinely interested in his demon index. When was the last time Xander or Buffy wanted knowledge for knowledge's sake?

     I found the revelation of Celia's death at the hands of the Kinderstaat to be a contrived and unnecessary plot device. It gave us some cute flashback scenes (thank God casting remembered Buffy's hair is really brown) but it didn't advance the plot at all. It didn't give some vital clue as to how to find or stop the villain, since Giles already had all that info, and it didn't give Buffy a reason to want him dead. She already wanted him dead, because he was preying on the weak. It was a big coincidence that was a little difficult to swallow.

     Also, when was the last time Buffy hung up on Giles before finding out from him the best way to kill the current bad guy? He had the info for her and she paid no attention. Yeah, she lucked out with the neck-breaking thing, but she might have been able to kill the Kinderstaat a lot faster if she'd listened for 15 more seconds. There aren't usually plot holes like this. At least her method of figuring out how to see the Kinderstaat was original. It was borderline suicidal, but it was original.

     OK Joyce, your daughter's in the hospital and her librarian is there before you are. Aren't you a little curious as to their relationship? She's got a beautiful 17 year old daughter who spends much of her free time with a 40-ish man. Why was Caine the werewolf hunter the only one to ever jump the the wrong but obvious conclusion? I mean, we the viewers know that as Buffy's Watcher, Giles is in a surrogate father position to her, but Joyce doesn't know it. I know technically this is a character point, but I had to ask. She's either the most trusting woman alive or she just chooses to be in denial about anything that might be difficult or unpleasant to deal with. Based on her behaviour in other eps, and her total blindness to Buffy's extra curricular activities as the Slayer (even when she sees it for herself, like in School Hard), I'd have to go with denial.

     The part where Willow talked about playing doctor as a child and the others tried to protect her from knowledge which might shock her was just *too* cute. Willow is just so darn innocent. And that scene gave me a hilarious mental image of a 7 year old Willow, with pigtails and a big text book, pressing a Fisher Price stethescope to little Xandy's chest and telling him earnestly that he had some disease or other.

     Angelus, although seen only twice in this episode, plays a pivotal role in moving the plot and character development. It is Angel's killing of Ms. Calendar that has so emotionally drained Buffy that she uncharacteristically becomes susceptible to the recent Sunnydale flu epidemic. This situation not only shows the ongoing repercussions of Jenny's death, but further illustrates Buffy's remorse at her treatment of Jenny, and her inability to prevent the teacher's death. Thus, she loses her fight with him, and is saved by the loyal scooby gang.

     Angelus' second appearance occurs during his attempt to visit Buffy in the hospital, where again we see that Buffy's friends are a contributing factor to her survival as The Slayer. Xander thwarts Angel's plot to harass Buffy as she recuperates. This confrontation serves to remind us not only of the continuing threat that Angel poses, but also Xander's romantic feelings toward Buffy and his long-standing jealousy of Angel.

     Buffy's hospitalization allows us to see her confront her own personal demons, fear of hospitals, illness, and death by illness. As Giles notes, illness and death are the only things against which Buffy's slayer powers are useless. Through flashbacks and Joyce's comments, we see how Buffy's powerless in the face of this foe disturb the Slayer.

     However, it isn't long before the appearance of the Freddy Krueger-like Kinderstaat shows that in the cases of Cecilia's death and that of the child in the hospital, the flu has had a helping hand in killing. Ryan, Buffy's young friend identifies the Kinderstaat for the personification of Death. What becomes clear, through Buffy's investigations and that of her friends, is that the Kinderstaat is as much a parasite as vampires, stalking sick children, and feeding of their life-force and fear.

     Strangely, Buffy's own illness has become her ally, for it allows her to see the Kinderstaat and know that the children's fears are justified. Moreover, the illness, when she takes a dose of Dr. Backer's vaccine, allows her to defeat the Kinderstaat, saving Ryan and avenging Cecilia. It is significant that Buffy kills the Kinderstaat by breaking its neck: this act mirrors Angel's killing of Jenny. We see that Buffy and Angel have similar styles, despite their very different motivations. Buffy kills this way in self-defense and to protect the vulnerable children from the Kinderstaat's stalking; Angel killed Jenny in this manner after stalking her, and to make Buffy and the gang vulnerable.