atheneum

.At the mansion, Buffy and Angel are sparring (so much for " I can't see you anymore, unless you tell me you don't love me", etc). After Buffy pins him and they have a little sexual tension, Buffy tells him her plans to go to an ice show with her Dad that weekend, for her birthday. Cut to the library, where Giles is quizzing Buffy on crystals and their properties. She doesn't really wanna be there, but he tells her it's part of her training. Later Buffy's trying to slay a vampire in the park, but finds herself suddenly weak. She's able to kill him with some luck, and tells Giles the next morning that there's something wrong with her. Giles tells her maybe she's sick, but Buffy doesn't think that's it, and doesn't want to be sick right now anyway, because she's got the ice show coming up with her dad. At home, Buffy arrives to find some flowers and balloons waiting for her from her Dad, with a note saying that he won't be able to go to the ice show with Buffy. We cut to an old house on the outskirts of town where an Anthony Hopkins-looking guy instructs two workers to sleep in shifts, and says that the time is getting close; the slayer's preparation is almost complete.

In the library, Giles is instructing Buffy on crystals some more, while she tries to hint around that she'd like to go to the ice show with him. He's really fixated on the crystals though, so Buffy participates, becoming hypnotized almost by one large grounding stone. When she's under, Giles pulls out a syringe and injects Buffy with something. When he's done, he obstructs her view of the crystal and she comes out of it with no awareness that anything happened, and she leaves. The next day at school Buffy tries to intercede on someone's behalf, and finds herself too weak to be of any help. She runs to Giles and tells him, worried that there's something really wrong with her. She asks Giles to promise her that they'll get to the bottom of this, and he gives his word. Cut to the house with the old guy, and Giles is having tea with him. The man says it's understandable for Giles to have doubts, as this is not an easy thing he has to do, but it's been done this way for centuries. Apparently, each slayer upon their 18th birthday has to go through a rite of passage where they are weakened, and locked up with something evil they've got to defeat on their own initiative, with no special powers. She is either triumphant, or she dies. Giles says it's an archaic tradition, and worries for Buffy's safety. The old guy, who is from the council, says that Giles is too embroiled in the situation, and has no say in the matter but to follow orders. After Giles leaves, they open up this big crate with a screaming vampire inside. With a long metal spoon, they give him a pill, which quiets him.

In the library, Buffy and the gang minus Giles research to try to find out why Buffy's so weak, but find nothing. Back at the house, the creature manages to escape from his box, and kill the two workers watching him. Meanwhile, at the mansion, Angel gives Buffy a book as a present for her birthday. Buffy worries that her calling might have been a wrong number, and doesn't know what she'll do without her powers. She doesn't think she's anybody without being a slayer, remembering what she was before she was called. In a very sweet moment, Angel tells her how he saw her before she was a slayer, and fell in love with her even then, making her feel better (see best line, below). Back at the house, One of the men the vampire bit before comes back to life as a vamp, while the original says that even though they're not going to play by 'their' rules, that doesn't mean they're not going to play. Later, Giles enters the house and finds the dead body of one of the workers. He leaves in haste. Buffy, meanwhile, is wandering the streets by herself, feeling weak and helpless. She's attacked by the two vamps from the house, and runs out into the street where Giles drives by and picks her up.

Back at the library, Giles confesses to Buffy what he's been doing on orders from the council. He tells her about the test, and Buffy can't believe that he did this to her, and never said anything to her all this time when he saw what she was going through. Giles is extremely sincere in his apology, and hates what he's done to her, and the trust that he's broken. (this is a very well acted scene, by the way. You really feel for poor Giles) Cordelia comes in, and Buffy asks her for a ride home, telling Giles before she leaves that she doesn't know him. At Buffy's house, Joyce walks outside after hearing a strange noise, and the crazy vamp grabs her. Upon returning home, Buffy finds out that her mom's been kidnapped, and gathers some supplies to go after them.

At the library, the council member shows up and Giles yells at him for his loss of control in this situation. The council guys says that it changes nothing, but Giles tells him he told Buffy what was going on. The council guy says that that is in direct violation of the council's orders, but Giles doesn't care and, when he learns that Buffy has already entered the house, he goes after her. At the house, the worker-turned vamp attacks Buffy, but she manages to fight him off. She's then attacked by the crazy vamp, but runs away from him, leaving all her weapons behind. Encountering him again, she's surprised when he starts screaming in pain, and trying to take some pills. She takes the pills from him, and falls through the floor into the room where Joyce is being kept. He finds her, and takes the vial of pills from her. He swallows the pills, and follows with a glass of water sitting there. He screams in pain, and it turns out that Buffy had replaced the water in the glass with holy water. He turns into dust and crumbles to the floor.

Back in the library, the council guy tells Buffy that the council is very pleased with her progress, but she doesn't care, and is very rude to him. The guy tells Giles that the test was not only for Buffy, but for him, too, and Giles failed. He says "Your affection for your charge has rendered you incapable of clear and impartial judgement. You have a father's love for the child, and that is useless to the cause" At this Buffy looks at Giles, an indiscernible look in her eyes. The council guy fires Giles, and says a new Watcher will be assigned. The council guy leaves, and Giles tends to Buffy's head wound.

FLAWS: Just curious. How come nobody else ever has a birthday except Buffy? We see her celebrate her 17th, her 18th.but nobody else ever has one.

Also, when weak-buffy is running from the vamps, she tries to climb a fence and can't because she doesn't have the strength. Come on already. I'm no slayer, but I've CLIMBED fences; it's not that hard. She was supposed to lose her super powers, not all the muscles that EVERYONE has. And besides which, Giles explains that the stuff he injected her with was an adrenaline suppressant, and muscle relaxer. But how does that take away her knowledge of fighting techniques. Even a normal person, wielding the knowledge of Tae Kwon Do or something, can be very lethal. Anyways.

Also....what was the deal with the crazy vamp guy and his pills? Must I *again* point out that Vampires....as creatures without heartbeats....don't have a blood-flow? Therefore, no matter what he takes, it shouldn't be carried by the blood to whatever part of his body needed the medication. Okay, okay....but aside from even that, they've gotta be the fastest working pills on the face of the planet. I mean, seriously. He takes the pills at the end and immediately calms down. Wtf? But somehow, he drinks the holy water and doesn't realize that it SHOULD BE BURNING HIM, until he's drank it all, and he talks to Bufffy a bit. Whatever.

THOUGHTS ON THE EPISODE: Most of the episode was kind of boring and annoyingj...ust a bunch of Buffy running around being whiny. But it did explore the almost father/daughter aspect of the Watcher/Slayer relationship. I was moved by the feeling Giles showed for Buffy; it was very nice, considering that I'd always gotten that vibe from him. It also, I think, meant a lot to Buffy. In this episode we start to see what a dick the council can be, and begin to get the first break between them and the slayer.

BEST LINE:

Buffy: "If I'm not the slayer, what am I? What do I have to offer? Why would you like me?"

Angel: "I saw you before you became a slayer."

Buffy: "What?"

Angel: "I watched you. And I saw you called. It was a bright afternoon out in front of your school. You walked down the steps and.....and I loved you."

Buffy: "Why?"

Angel: "Because I could see your heart. You held it before you for everyone to see, and I worried that it would be bruised or torn. And more than anything in my life I wanted to keep it safe. To warm it with my own.

Buffy: "That's beautiful...................or taken literally incredibly gross."

Angel: "I was just thinking that too."

"Helpless"