Buffy the Vampire Slayer - Choices - S03E19 Review

CHOICES
SEASON 3 EPISODE 19

Let's get one thing out of the way.  Yes, I'm back!  After a two and a half year hiatus from Buffy retrospectives, I've decided to get back on the horse.  You're welcome, five people that used to read these things!  I'm thinking about doing one or two a week until I get caught up with my backlog of movie reviews, then I'll shift over fully to TV reviews.

Now without any further Ado About Nothing, let's get going!  We open up with the Mayor giving Faith a “gift”.  No, not like that.  He’s her father (figure) for Christsake!  Well, I guess it’s a gift in the sense that he wants something in return for it: for her to kill a guy and intercept a package that will help with the Ascension.  She opens it and it’s a big honkin’ knife.

She proceeds to sniff the knife like a freaking weirdo.  No follow-up for that, I just wanted to make it known.

 

Cut to Buffy and Angel killing vamps like a normal couple and having a couple-y conversation about their potential future together.  Angel mentions them taking out a cave of fire demons.  Man, I wanted to see that!  Is that out of your budget, guys?  I know it’s not, considering the insanely punching-above-your-weight-CGI-effects that you attempt like three episodes from now!  So would it kill you to throw a fire demon at us from time to time?  I’m just saying.

The next morning, Buffy’s mom comes to congratulate her on getting accepted to college.  Pssh, it’s not that impressive – anybody can get accepted.  Can you afford it and not drop out immediately though?  Those are the questions.  Anyway the Buff feels bad about not ever getting to have a real future.  Joyce also mentions an Aunt Arlene who I don’t believe is ever mentioned outside of this scene.

 

At school, everyone brags on Willow for getting into fancy-pants Ivy League schools, and Buffy adorably remarks that Oxford is where they “make Gileses”.  D’aww.  Xander’s reading Kerouac and at least trying to have something to do (bohemian cross-country road trip!), although the writers drop this angle pretty quickly and have him be shiftless again in the next season.  Cordelia shows up to be a bitch for a while and leaves, but not before using the phrase “tea bag central”, which is pretty funny.

Buffy, increasingly worried about her future, asks Wesley about maybe going off to college, but he forbids with his magical Council Forbidding Powers (now with extra silly hand gestures).  She suggests taking the fight to the Mayor and Giles agrees and they hatch a plan.

Meanwhile, Faith kills some dude with a bow and arrow and steals a mysterious box for the Mayor.  It’s pretty cool, but one thing that’s always bugged me is her ‘gotcha’ line.  The smuggler guy says “I don’t like surprises,” she shoots him, and then she says “Surprise!”  She’s like thirty feet away on top of a building; no way did she hear him say that!  One out of five stars, this show sucks!

They head back to City Hall where Buffy is lying in wait.  She pumps the vamp chauffer for info and learns about the Box of Gavrok and where it’s hidden.  She heads back to the library and they all come up with a plan while Wesley gets pissy about his authority being questioned.  The Buffster, Angel, and Willow begin their sneak into City Hall, while Giles and Wesley are the wheelmen and Oz and Xander work the spell... for some reason.  Maybe leave Giles to help with the spell since you don’t need two drivers?  No?  Okay.  There’s a cute scene in which Xander and Oz have this weird bonding moment over their love for Willow.

Willow deactivates a security spell and is immediately captured on her way back to Giles, while Buffy repels Mission Impossible style in to get the box.  They fight some vamps for a bit and then get away with the box, but are immediately willing to trade it back once they find out Will has been captured.  Wesley dissents of course, but a violent outburst by Oz puts him in his place, and they decide to make a trade at the high school of all places.  Anytime Oz gets to show even the slightest bit of emotion, it’s a good time.

Captive Willow manages to kill a vamp and escape for a bit, but Faith catches her and roughs her up a bit.  She does find the Book of Ascension, however, and manages to swipe a couple pages for later.  This always stands out to me as a pivotal scene in Willow’s development.  You can tell she’s really coming into her own as she defiantly stands up to Faith.

The trade goes down in the school cafeteria and Buffy finally meets the Mayor face to face.  Angel tells the Mayor that he “likes his girls sane”, which is pretty hilarious considering Darla and Drusilla.  The Mayor then foretells the inevitable doom of the Bangel relationship and how Buffy will eventually die of old age while Angel will eternally stay the same.  He actually does a great job of driving the two apart, as you’ll see in the next episode – SPOILERS!

Snyder then breaks in like the useless human being he is, thinking he’s doing a drug bust, and the box gets opened.  Woo little crab spiders!  One eats a cop’s face in a much tamer fashion than I remember as a kid.  Faith eventually kills it with her new knife, but is unable to retrieve the knife when they leave.  There’s a weird lingering shot of Xander towards the end of the scene that just made me remember that he says nothing during the whole scene.  Willow gives Giles the Ascension papers and he turns into a giddy little schoolgirl.  I love Giles.

The next day, Buffy resigns to the fact that she’ll never get out of Sunnydale.  Willow, out of her adorable selfless little heart decides to go to the Uni in Sunnydale, that way she’ll always be with Buffy.  Again, I say “D’aww”!

As we’re wrapping up, we find out that Cordy is broke and working at a clothing store (she was barely even in this episode).  Then we close on Buffy and Angel cuddling in the cemetery, making fun of what the Mayor said, even though there’s a subtle moment before the credits where they both kind of realize that he was right.

And that’s Choices, everybody!  Was it worth the 2+ year wait?

It’s a solid episode that deals heavily with the theme of growing up (although I guess you could say that for just about any episode).  It’s a pretty good episode and has some cute Buffy/Angel stuff, although in retrospect, this is really the last time we ever see them in a happy relationship.  That’s... kind of depressing.