Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered - S02E16 Review

BEWITCHED, BOTHERED AND BEWILDERED
SEASON 2 EPISODE 16

It's about time we got another Xander episode! While the Xand stories are always strong, this is definitely one of my favorites. It's really the first of three that are almost solely about Xander, from his perspective. We open with Xander tagging along with Buffy while waiting for a vamp to rise. He whips out a heart-shaped necklace that he plans to give Cordy for Valentine's Day. There are some strong hints here that Xander still has feelings for Buffy and you can tell she knows it by the look on her face. On one hand, I love how subtly it's handled, but a little part of me resents them never exploring the idea of a Buffy/Xander relationship (until the comics, but that's a different story).

The next day, Cordy tries to catch up to her friends at school, but Harmony seems to have become the replacement leader of their little group and teases Cordy for dating Xander. I still find it insane how Xander is a geek; there's nothing remotely geeky about him. He's not even that smart! Anyway Cordelia takes it badly and starts to resent Xand. In class, Will and Buff talk to Amy (from Witch) about the Valentine's Day dance. Afterwards, Xander sees Amy use some kind of illusion spell on the teacher to make her think Amy did her homework. Kind of a lame power, but I guess it's good if you're lazy.

In the hallway, Giles comes up to the gang with a rather grim look, but thinks get even more awkward when he sees traitor Jenny. She asks to talk to him, but he kind of blows her off as Buffy, still rightfully pissed, walks off. In the library, Giles tells Buffy that Angel's going to be especially sick around Valentine's Day, which is complemented by a scene of Spike giving Dru a pretty necklace. This is of course followed by Angel showing up to give Dru a human heart. Angel is practically stealing Dru right out from under Spike's nose, so much so that you almost start to feel sorry for the poor guy! It's also interesting that the two have a very brief conversation about poetry; a possible hint into Spike's former life (which we will get into MUCH later), perhaps? Nah, probably just coincidence. Instead of a heart for Buffy, Angel opts for a box of roses with a note saying "soon". She obviously does not take this too well.

At the Bronze, Willow gushes over Oz's band while Xander rushes to Cordy to give her the necklace. He gives Cordy the heart necklace after spilling his guts that he might have actual real feelings for her...and in true Cordy fashion, she looks at it for two seconds, and then dumps him. Xander storms off (really good performance from Nicky here), and the perspective shifts to him. Everyone at school is making fun of him for getting dumped, and he sees Amy in the hall, pulling her aside. He uses the spell he saw her use on the teacher as blackmail to get her to do a little spell for him. He wants her to cast a spell on Cordelia to make her love him, so he can in turn dump her. It's a pretty petty plot, but Xander's never been the most levelheaded, after all.

Xander asks Cordy for the necklace back, which she turns out to have been wearing the whole time. She's unnecessarily catty to him, but it doesn't matter since he uses that necklace as a catalyst for the spell, which seems to go off without a hitch. That is, until he goes to talk to Cordy the next day, and she completely brushes him off. Xander walks into the library, and talks to Buffy, who to his surprise, totally comes onto him. Sarah plays the sexy thing all the way to eleven and Xander falls right for it. Unfortunately, before Buffy can make her move, Amy pulls Xander away to tell him the spell didn't work correctly. And then also comes onto him. Sensing a pattern here? Then he hightails it home (while some wacky violin music plays; this music has also stuck out to me for some reason) only to find Willow in his room, wearing only one of his flannel shirts. Nick's reaction is absolutely perfect. He rejects her and then runs off to hide.

At school, Cordy is surprised to find all of her friends disgusted with her again, only now they're mad at her for dumping Xander. And then Xander walks in to the tune of a funky song (presumably called "Got the Love") while everyone looks at him in slow-motion. It's pretty funny, but it's SUCH a long scene; it reminds me of a similar scene of Xander and the hyena gang walking in The Pack that lasts for like two minutes. Xander finally heads to Giles to ask for help, and this is proved when Jenny comes in and quickly becomes infatuated with Xand. Giles gets really pissed about this; I always find it odd when Giles gets mad at Xander, sometimes he tolerates Xander's shenanigans and sometimes he doesn't.

Giles leaves the library and Buffy comes in with just a raincoat on, planning to seduce him. Xander tries to dissuade her, saying she doesn't really love him, which just kind of angers her. Then Amy storms in, and a catfight ensues; Buffy throws some punches and then Amy turns Buffy into...a rat. The Buffyrat then scampers away so no one can get her. And everyone starts getting violent: Amy and Jenny start to argue, and the Cordettes start beating up Cordelia, it's a mess! Just as Xander's about to catch the Buffyrat, Oz comes in the library and punches him in the face as the Buffster scurries out the open door. Oz admits he only did it because Willow called him crying about Xand. It's a rare moment of emotion for Oz. My favorite part of the scene is all of them on the ground calling for Buffy, but the mood is ruined when Giles tells Xander to get out of his sight and go lock himself up until they can break the spell.

Xander leaves the library just in time to save Cordy from the angry mob of girls that soon start to chase them; even the lunchlady is in the crowd! Outside, they find that Willow is leading the mob with a fire axe, and she's rather kill Xander than see him with Cordy. Meanwhile, Oz follows the Buffyrat into the basement where it must contend with normally mundane things like mousetraps and cats; (for some reason...WHY is there a cat living in the school basement?) the Buffyrat is pretty stupid, even for a rat. Xander and Cordy stow away in Buffy's house, only to find that Joyce also has the hots for him. Cordy has none of it and throws Joyce out of her own house. But she starts to break in, so they go to hide in Buffy's room, but then Xander is grabbed out the window by Angel.

It's weird that Angel's even in this episode actually, and is Xander made of steel? He's thrown off the roof of Buffy's house on his back and seems to be fine after shrugging it off. Angel almost kills him but he's saved by Drusilla, also in love with him. So Dru is going to vamp him but the mob shows up to distract her long enough for Xander to get back in Buffy's house; this time they head for the basement. Xander admits that the spell was intended for Cordelia and she seems truly touched, but then the mob breaks in and nearly kills them. Luckily Giles and Amy reverse the spell, sending everyone home and changing Buffy back into Buffy.

The next day Buffy and Xand are talking about how most people probably repressed the issue. They share another moment, and Buffy heads out, leaving Xander to patch things up with Cordelia, who is now back in her little clique. The clique makes fun of Xander and then Cordy decides she's had enough, calling Harmony a sheep, and finally taking Xander's side once and for all. It's a big moment for Cordy, one of the first really likable things she does, and a cute little ending to the episode.

Overall, this is one of my personal favorites; it's not really a great episode, but I AM a sucker for the Xander-centric ones. It's a very lighthearted and fun romp, and that's exactly what the season needed in between lots of serious, darker stories. Speaking of which, I hope you like heartbreak, because the next episode is a doozy.

****