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February 13, 2002

Buffy - Older and Far Away - 02/12/02

Once again, it's Buffy's birthday. And once again, everything goes wrong.

I liked this episode, but it was not in my favorites. It was a good filler episode, good to finally get out in the open all of Dawn's issues. The shoplifting thing has been going to too long for no one to notice, but it took the leather coat (how DID she get out of the store?) with the security tag on it to start people thinking. The Magic Box stuff she never wore or used, just kept hidden. But still...

And the whole alone thing. Buffy has been so wrapped up in her own issues that she hasn't had time to spare for Dawn. It was a good wake-up call for Buffy, I just wish it had come sooner. Look, Buffy, the girl has found out she is the Key, lost her mother, and her sister, all within the span of a year. THEN she gets her sister back, but finds out in a bit of musical theater that her sister was happy where she was, and she didn't WANT to come back. And finally, her sister isn't really there when she is standing right in front of you.

HELLO?? Take a look at the pain in front of you! Thank you!

Okay, so Dawn's whining was really, really annoying. Makes me feel less sympathetic toward her. But she's a sixteen-year old girl. Like asking for help or telling someone - one of your family members - about your problems is really gonna happen.

I knew that the guidance counselor was more than she appeared when she showed. It was just TOO much. I was pleased with her appearance at the end, but it was almost too convenient, the way they put it all together. I would have liked Buffy to dig a bit more into Dawn's psyche before putting two and two together and coming up with the requisite four. It seemed to me that she put two out there, guessed that there was another two somewhere, and leapt to four. It's not like vengeance...err, sorry...JUSTICE demons are around every day. It's not like an early episode of Buffy, wherein she "...took a tiny step, and there conclusions were."

I really enjoyed Tara's return in this episode. I liked how she stood up for Willow's attempts at recovery, even in the face of a pissed-off Anya and an injured Xander. And I loved her comments at Spike, who obviously had no idea that Buffy had spilled the proverbial beans. Go Tara!

Overall, 6/10.

Repeats next week while we're away. Yippie, no need to worry about the TV on the right channel!

Posted by Julia at 1:05 PM

Smallville - Leech - 02/12/02

I hate when I see someone, and then can't figure out where I know them from.

But I love the Internet Movie Database. I just wish that most TV Guide listings would tell me who the guest stars are, so I can immediately get my fix.

Watching Smallville last night, I knew I recognized Eric, but just couldn't place him. I only caught his name quickly, knew it was Shawn A(something). Definitely not Astin, but maybe Astor? IMDB as no luck, so I turned to TV Guide, which fortunately this week had the guest stars (it did NOT last week, so I still am not sure if my guess as to the crazy guy in the woods is accurate). Shawn Ashmore. See, I was close!

So I go look him up, and I see that he's been on Animorphs. I've seen some of those, they were fun. But it's still not quite right. Then I see it. He was Bobby "Iceman" Drake on X-Men. Bingo!

The rest of the episode, I'm yelling, "No, Bobby! Don't do it, Bobby!"

It was a good episode. Good Lex bits with Victoria's attempts to use him, and it all blowing up in her face. Lou had to tell me who was in the pictures he got at the end, though, it went by so fast I didn't recognize him.

It was a good way for Clark to see that "With Great Power, Comes Great Responsibility" (I know that's Spiderman's motto, but hey, it works here) and also a good way for him to see that who he is is really more than his powers. He's a product of his upbringing, powers or not.

And it was a decent way to do the "Oh no, I've lost my powers" episode. I had a blast seeing Clark enjoy life as a normal teenager, though we all know it wouldn't last.

Not much Lana, but she didn't have a lot to do here.

Overall, 7/10.

Posted by Julia at 11:50 AM | Comments (4)