Checkpoint

Buffy Episode Review

In which the Watcher's Council messes with Buffy. They need to stop doing that.

What Happened

Representatives from the Watcher's Council arrive in Sunnydale with information about Glory. Before telling Buffy and Giles what they have found, however, Quentin Travers insists on testing their knowledge and abilities.

So What?

Got to admire Quentin. He puts Buffy and Giles on the defensive from the beginning. His "rules and regulations" attitude has as much to do with his manipulation of Buffy into thinking she needs him as it has to do with him being a stuck-up twit.

On first viewing, I kind of wondered why they included the scene where Buffy gets picked on by her teacher. I suppose that it's part of setting up her realization that she isn't powerless against snotty older white men like him and Quentin. As if having the Council ghouls hovering around her wasn't depressing enough, Buffy needs to be stomped on in other arenas as well. Notice that she won't stand up for herself, but when Glory threatens Dawn, Buffy starts doing whatever it takes to her sister safe.

The showdown with the Council has been a long time coming, ever since they fired poor Giles back in "Helpless." Buffy is definitely the one with the power in this equation. Face it, without the Slayer, the Council is just a bunch of old guys with a really odd hobby.

These stories always have a strong anti-establishment vibe to them. The Lesson of the Week is that the Hero doesn't have to follow the rules, but the person setting them is always played as such a martinet with a list of tiny little 'i's that have to be dotted and 't's that have to be crossed. There's never any real question of who is right and wrong here. Buffy and Giles move from blind obedience to outright rebellion without considering that there may be reasoning and merit behind some of the Councils' edicts.