Lie to Me

Buffy Episode Review

In which Buffy has crap taste in men.

What Happened

On patrol, Buffy spots Angel talking to Drusilla. Rather than ask Angel outright what's going on, she sets him one of those tests, where she asks if he did anything last night and then pouts when he lies that he stayed in.

Fortunately for Buffy's love life, her old friend Ford has hit town, and it seems that he already knows she's the Slayer, so she won't have to worry about how to break that bit of bad news. Unfortunately, he has the brain tumor and has decided that the answer to all his problems is to trade Buffy in to Spike in exchange for eternal life as a vampire.

The Good

• There's a certain spookiness inherent in playgrounds at night, and Drusilla gliding out of the shadows by the jungle gym does not help.
• So maybe Giles is the only one who would actually use the word "glum" to describe it, but he does notice her mood - and offer her a night off.
• "Oh, is that what that song's about?" Willow's best line ever.
• "Angel, if I say something you really don't want to hear, do you promise not to bite me?" Whoever put Angel and Willow together gets a gold star.
• "A book! It took one of my books!" Poor Giles. It's been a hard night: first monster trucks with Miss Calendar, and now this.
• Buffy and Angel talking about Dru. She demands the truth, then wonders if she really can "take it." But she's not so upset with Angel that she ignores what he has to say about Ford.
• Ford and Buffy's emotional showdown was well done. Jason Behr obviously has more in him than Roswell.

The Bad

• Always with the brain tumors on this show.

The Cliche

• The Old Friend: An "old friend" the audience has never heard of turns out to be connected to the Bad Guys and the episode is taken up with various efforts to save them and/or turn them back from the Dark Side. Theoretically, giving the Friend a connection to someone already on the canvas gives the story a little more impact because we care about the regular character.
• And Xander's jealous of Ford, but we knew that. Though he may just be annoyed by the overworked, "Ohmigawd" best friend small-talk.
• When in doubt, try to make Angel jealous. Very mature, Buff.

Best Lines

Buffy: "So does it get easier?"
Giles: "What do you want me to say?"
Buffy: "Lie to me." Aww...

What Did I Think?

After the fun of "Halloween," we get the drama of "Lie to Me." Good guest star, beautiful use of the supporting cast, solid theme to the story, coupled with a poignant scene at the end between Buffy and Giles, and another step in Buffy and Angel's romance. The story of what he did to Drusilla is far more effective in shaping the audience's perception of him than his over-angst-but-no-explanation in "Reptile Boy."