Bewitched, Bewildered and Bothered

Buffy Episode Review

In which Xander really should have known better.

What Happened

Shunned by her friends, Cordelia dumps Xander - on Valentines Day. Hurt, he turns to Amy ("The Witch") and demands that she use witchcraft to cast a love spell on Cordelia so that he can dump her. The spell goes wrong (of course), resulting in every woman in Sunnydale, except for Cordelia, lusting after him.

The Good

• "A girl needs to look good for her geek." Cordelia's friends teasing her. Harmony is always great, but the girl in the red beret is little too Posable Barbie.
• Spike gets her a beautiful necklace. Angel gets her a bloody heart, from a "quaint little shop-girl." Which do you think Drusilla likes better?
• Xander asks for his gift back. Cordelia lies that the necklace is in her locker, but it is really around her neck. Aw.
• Xander is so happy when he thinks Buffy is interested, then realizes it's the spell. Nick Brendan looks so disappointed. And later on, Xander turns Buffy down when she throws herself at him; he really is a nice enough guy.
• Willow! In the bed!
• "Just go. Get out of my sight." Disgusted Giles sending Xander home as he tries to keep Jenny from rubbing up against him.
• "Who died and made you Elvis?" Cordelia finding out that Xander wanted the love spell to affect her. Notice how he leaves out that the original idea was for him to dump her as painfully as possible. To be fair, that is the moment the door gets broken down.
• "Here I am scrambling for your approval, when I'm way cooler than you." Cordelia gets a real backbone and stands up to her herd of Cordettes (one of whom, if you check the credits, was actually named Cordette).

The Bad

• If you want to be strict about it, Angel's ability to reach into Buffy's room and grab Xander isn't exactly kosher. Especially since Drusilla slams into the vamp barrier a few minutes later and can't even get a fingernail across.

The Cliche

• Giles and Jenny meeting awkwardly in the hallway. Half sentences. Refusal to meet eye contact as they stare longingly at each other. Tinkly piano music. You know the drill. On the other hand, Buffy actually notices that Giles is upset by it.
• "I want to break-up." Xander trying to express his feelings for Cordelia, then wham! She dumps him.

What Did I Think?

Fairly inspired lunacy, and a sweet new step in Xander and Cordelia's relationship.