Halloween

Season Two, Episode Six

12/31/08

A Pumpkin Patch

HE: This was a very short introduction…no dialogue even!
SHE: No pumpkins were hurt in the making of this Buffy episode.
HE: Not true. The vampire lands on one.
SHE: It was CGI.
HE: That’s not how they roll in Pop’s Pumpkin Patch. This scene addresses another ongoing Buffy issue, though: How is it that vampires show up on film, but not in mirrors?
SHE: There are no mirrors in video cameras.
HE: There are reflective surfaces. Just say you don’t know.

---

A Date

HE: Listen to the new band! That’s all you’re going to get.
SHE: I wish this town had a Bronze.
HE: Well, it doesn’t. What’s this? Angel is actually laughing at Cordy’s jokes!
SHE: I can’t believe Angel is laughing. When does he ever do that? We should count it.
HE: Meanwhile, Buffy says she wants to be one of those “girls who have time to think about nail polish and facials” …man, times have changed in 10 years. You can’t say that word now.
SHE: Why not?
HE: Because the meaning of facial has changed.
SHE: I’m going to ignore that remark. Wait, no I’m not. How are we going to speak when every word has a pornographic double meaning? You say “Good morning,” and you have titters because it now means something else.
HE: Heh heh. You said “titters.”

---

Volunteers

SHE: “Sugar-hyped little runts” ? Sounds like parenthood.
HE: For all his faults, Snyder does a lot of reaching out to the community, what with his pool of slave labor and all.
SHE: Reminds me of something else. Which episode was it when they were chanting “fresh fish” at the freshmen coming to school?
HE: And one of the kids burrowed to freedom from his locker using only a rock ax?
SHE: Time and pressure.
HE: The ENTRAIN sticker will block it from the warden, I mean principal. What is ENTRAIN, anyway? I thought it was going to be the name of a band appearing.
SHE: Of course you did. Because you stopped the disc to stare at it for ten minutes. Joss Whedon needs to put little arrows on the stuff that’s actually important. Oh wait. He put actors in the show.
HE: ENTRAIN rhymes with Ethan Rayne. Coincidence?

HE: Halloween is “dead for the undead.” Take a note there. That’s important.
SHE: I would love to put on a fantabulous gown and go to a ball. That’s important.
HE: Hey, we can go to the Bronze that’s magically coming to town.
SHE: Very droll, as Giles would say. Xander actually gets upset with Buffy here.
HE: His manhood was…well, decimated, really. What there was of it, anyway.
SHE: It didn’t take long.
HE: So get this. Xander wants Dr. Pepper. Doesn’t get it. Wants to beat Larry. Not going to happen. Buffy takes care of Larry, and then gets a DIET Dr. Pepper. Is there a hidden meaning there?
SHE: It’s the karmic answer to Xander’s problem. The girls he hangs out with are stronger than he is, so he might as well be drinking the diet, too.
HE: They all are. Without exception. Anya, Ampata, Preying Mantis Lady, Buffy, Willow…they all are.

HE: Someone should tell Willow that she can take off her backpack when she sits down.
SHE: I like Buffy’s plaid pants.
HE: Cordelia is looking good, as usual…very preppy.
SHE: Cordelia the slayer?
HE: “…But when it comes to dating, I’m the slayer.” You know, when it comes to grammar, I’m the slayer.
SHE: When it comes to knitting, I’m the slayer.

---

The Costume Shop

HE: Halloween is a time for being “sexy and wild with no repercussions.” …I thought that was what roofies were for.
SHE: What? That’s horrible! I’m going to slip you a roofie.
HE: What’s horrible is the message Buffy takes out of Halloween.

HE: It’s interesting that Xander represses by dressing up as a military guy.
SHE: I thought he was just going for cheap.
HE: Absolutely. It’s like he’s subconsciously trying to refight his battle with Larry by becoming a military man.

HE: Why the long face, Ethan? Oh ho ho ho.
SHE: Huh?
HE: He’s got a really long face.
SHE: Cute. I thought the dress was lovely. Did you like the dress?
HE: Not into that style. Nor am I into Ethan with the silk shirt.
SHE: Ethan is caught in the Eighties. That’s part of his evil.

---

Someone New

SHE: Nice to see mounted TVs in vampire lairs.
HE: Spike susses out his competition here. He’s the resourceful one.
SHE: Very scholarly. You have to respect that.
HE: And he delegates well. He didn’t need to go out to the cemetery to get that footage.
SHE: Spike’s Management Secrets, available in fine bookstores everywhere. And Amazon.

SHE: Here’s newbie Ethan with the Janus statue.
HE: “Chaos, I remain, as ever, thy faithful, degenerate son.”
SHE: I’ve tasted Chaos. It was bitter with an oaky flavor. Goes well with fruit.
HE: That was a cool tilt and pan from the female to the male side of the statue.
SHE: I missed it.
HE: Sigh.

---

Halloween

HE: Can you imagine if Willow had decided to go with the slut costume instead? Watch out, Sunnydale!
SHE: But the slut costume didn’t come from Ethan’s shop.
HE: Was it one of Buffy’s outfits? Is Buffy the slut?


HE: Xander shouldn’t be staring at Willow’s Boo. That’s ill-mannered.
SHE: Eyes up here, buddy. I wouldn’t let high schoolers take kids to go trick or treating. My husband leaving it for me to do is so much better.
HE: Trust me, you wouldn’t want me doing it, either. Unless your idea of Halloween fun is for me to go to CVS and have the kids wait in the car. Say, what is that costume supposed to be…a crab? A lobster, maybe?

HE: Oz has an ‘entrain’ sticker in his locker. Just like Willow has on hers?
SHE: That becomes very important later in the episode.
HE: Does it?
SHE: No.
HE: I like Oz’s one-liners. Especially when he’s laconic: “Jeez, you’re like a great big cat.”
SHE: The fun part is that Cordelia takes his comment at face value and starts to explain it.
HE: “Why can’t I meet a nice girl like that?” says Oz. Then misses Willow again for the bajillionth time.

---

Showtime

SHE: You know what occurred to me as we were watching him do this incantation in Latin? I should learn Latin and curse all my enemies.
HE: Latin is the official language of spooky monsters.
SHE: You should start counting the times they use Latin.
HE: It may not be as much as one might think, because I seem to remember a bunch of older languages and crypto-languages being mentioned. Latin’s relatively new.
SHE: It’s not as old as Ancient Sumerian.
HE: At least Ethan is using classical Latin pronunciation, and not ecclesiastical. This way we know he has incantation cred.
SHE: It really burns my faggot when they do that.
HE: Um…
SHE: I was looking for something Roman-y to say.
HE: Did you notice the overhead candled circle shot during the incantation? That’s a Whedon favorite.
SHE: You wouldn't happen to know the Latin, would you?
HE: I'm so glad you asked! [Scroll down...making tables is hard.]

Janus, evoco vester animum.	Janus, I summon your spirit.
Exaudi meam causam	Hear my cause.
Carpe noctem pro consilium vestrem	Take this night for your plans.
Vene, appare...	Come, appear...
...et nobis monstra quod est infinita potestas	...and show us infinite power.
Persona intra...	The characters (masks) within...
...corpem et sanguem commutandum est.	...are transformed into body and blood.
Vestra sancta praesentia conscrecit visceram!	Your holy presence consecrates the flesh!
Janus! Sume noctem!	Janus! Seize the night!

---

New Personalities

SHE: If certain children were already monsters, what do they turn into?
HE: You mean a monster putting on a monster costume?
Same as everyone else, I’d imagine. Depends on the costume.
SHE: It wouldn’t turn into a monster times two? Monster Squared?
HE: Magic works the same for everyone. It’s the great equalizer. It takes a while longer for the teenagers to transform. Probably because they’re bigger.
SHE: Xander makes a convincing soldier. Or not.
HE: Apparently real soldiers only speak in monotone. And hello—it’s not a machine gun, subtitles! it’s an M-16 rifle.
SHE: Silly subtitles.

---

Halloween Terror

HE: Not much recoil on that rifle. And take it easy, Xander…those cartridges only have 30 rounds.
SHE: Spike’s right. It is neat.
HE: He must really think so. He’s walking around, all vamped out. There’s a lot of really nifty small touches in this sequence, if you’re paying attention.
SHE: Oh, here we go. What’d I miss?
HE: Well, there’s Cordelia “Thanks” to Xander when he gives her his jacket. Touch of surprise there.
SHE: You could tell she kind of liked Army Xander.
HE: Did you notice that Xander had tats?
SHE: Missed it.
HE: Of course, there’s the situational irony with Cordelia saying, “Who died and made her the boss?” as Willow walks through the wall behind her back.
SHE: That was funny.
HE: And that was quite a sneakup Willow puts on Giles.
SHE: I thought Giles had wet himself. One moment he’s cross-referencing, and the next he’s all pee-pee pants.
HE: Cordelia’s awesome at summarizing the action for latecomers: “They don’t know who they are. Everyone’s turned into a monster. It’s a whole big thing. How are you?” And in case you missed it, Giles takes a look at Willow’s outfit and says, “The ghost of what, exactly?”
SHE: She’s the Ghost of Slutoween Future, Giles!”

---

Ethan’s Costume Shop

HE: Spike’s talking to kids. Only he doesn’t know they’re kids.
SHE: He’s leading the tiny troops. He seizes opportunities when they present themselves.

HE: Yar. It’s Larry the Pirate. Say, did you notice—
SHE: From Ethan’s Costume Shop? The sign that said “Check your bags with the cashier”?
HE: When Willow leaves the shop…the curtain moves when she brushes against it.
SHE: I did notice that. Very unghost-like. And she goes around Giles. You can go through him, too.
HE: It’s rude for ghosts to just walk through people. And Willow isn’t rude.
SHE: Did you notice when Ethan said “Hello, Ripper”?
HE: Yeah. What was that about? (I’m being facetious. I know what it’s about.)

HE: Look…Xander gets his revenge on Larry, and saves Buffy as she saved him.
SHE: Aw, the circle of beating each other up.
HE: “It’s strange, but beating up that pirate gave me a weird sense of closure.”
SHE: Yar.

---

Old Friends

SHE: What? Giles isn’t innocent and good? Did you notice that part?
HE: Actually, I was preoccupied. You know what the name Ethan Rayne reminds me of?…Chocolate Rain…
SHE: Please stop.
HE: I like the idea being pushed out here. “Quite a little act you’ve got going here,” says Ethan. Scoffs at the idea of him being the “tweed-clad guardian of the slayer.”
SHE: But he is!
HE: I thought this was extremely well-written. Giles, too, has been wearing a mask, just like most everyone else in this episode. He says he has become his act. Which is exactly what is happening in this episode to some of the characters. Cordelia, on the other hand, is who she is. She doesn’t change.

HE: DAMN, Giles! sucker punch! That was cool.
SHE: You like this mask Giles has on?
HE: The mask is what he takes off to punch him.
SHE: But his secret remains safe. He sends Willow away when he decides to whomp on him.

Cordelia: “Oh, faboo. More clinging.”

---

Breaking the Spell

HE: Giles should be an Army interrogator. At Guantanamo!
SHE: Geez, waterboard much, Giles?
HE: That would have taken too long. Better just to kick Ethan when he’s down. Of course, he was being a smart ass. “Say pretty please.” So he kind of deserved it.

HE: “Hi, honey. I’m home.”
SHE: It’s good to be me, she says. She’s learned a valuable life lesson.
HE: That round goes to Buffy. She’s now 1-0-1 against Spike, according to my statistics. Spike definitely left the field.
SHE: Again, Spike doesn’t get staked. His skedaddle was fast, but not that fast.
HE: And Angel, of course, just hangs back. La la.
SHE: They just don’t recognize a threat when they see one.

HE: Willow breaks the spell of her timidity, and voila, here comes Oz!
SHE: I think she was just too tired to care anymore.
HE: Fatigue does enter into many life decisions. Look! Oz’s van has the steering wheel on the right side. What’s that all about?
HE: Trippy. And when she’s asking who’s that girl, we’re still asking: “Who is that guy?”

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A Real Girl

HE: I know that you would like to be a “fancy girl.” Am I correct?
SHE: I would love to wear a dress like that once. Just to know what it was like.
HE: I’m sure they’re available at costume shops, whale-bone shops, and, I would suspect, certain fetish websites. Sounds painful.

HE: Giles comes back to find the shop abandoned, but Ethan’s no fool…he took the stock with him.
SHE: I noticed that too. He needed that merchandise.
HE: “Be Seeing You” says the ominous note. But what I liked best was Ethan’s logo with the drama masks.



Next Time: "Lie To Me."