Into the Woods

Episode 5.10

 

On fake orgasms, vampiric remorse, and choosing the monkey

by Sanguine

Sanguine: Hi Marti. Can I call you Marti?

Marti: (nervously) Aren’t . . . aren’t you the women who mocked David? You made fun of his snake!

Sanguine: Mocked? David Fury? Me???

Marti: Um, yeah OK. I guess you’re here to mock me as well. Well, go ahead. Let me have it!

Sanguine: Marti, I really enjoy your work on BTVS. I know some people don’t like the angstiness of your episodes, but I really love the pain and torture you put the characters through. Especially Buffy.

Marti: OK . . . .

Sanguine: Yes. Speaking of torture, hooking her up with Captain Cardboard, ahem, I mean Riley Finn . . . that was the most exquisite torture of all! And it lasted a year and half. They don’t call you the whips and chains gal for nothing!

Marti: Et tu, Sanguine?

Sanguine: I really didn’t dislike Riley . . . until you made Buffy run after his helicopter. Even that couldn’t convince me that "their love was an eternal love." Blech!!! No matter how many times they had explicit sex, no matter how nice Marc Blucas is, no matter how talented an actor he will prove to be in his future movie projects, the poor guy just didn’t have any chemistry with Sarah.

Marti: (sheepish) I know.

Sanguine: Now James Marsters on the other hand . . . that man could have chemistry with a block of cement!

Marti: Don’t go there Sanguine!
 

 

I had mixed feelings about Into the Woods, Marti Noxon’s debut doing double duty as writer and director (alliteration is my friend!). To illustrate, I will divide this review into the Good, the Bad, and the Ugly.

The Good

The cloud of horrible tension that had been hanging over the Scoobies seemed to be lifted at the beginning of this week’s episode when Buffy and the Scoobies are given the welcome news that Joyce’s operation is a success! Hugs all round, except for Giles and Xander who have a macho male moment. It’s generally not a good idea to crack the ribs of your doctor with your amazing superstrength, but hey, Buffy even in her rejoicing, can’t escape her Slayerness. This heartwarming opening is followed by a hilarious scene in which Anya annoys Xander and advises Dawn to "Choose monkey!" Words to live by. Unfortunately, we quickly move from the intentionally hilarious to the unintentionally hilarious. We dip into the realm of

The Bad

The reason Dawn is hanging out with Xander and Anya, putting the crimp in their very active and apparently very noisy sex life is so Riley and Buffy can get it on. In an aggressively romantic scene (i.e., the director and set dresser desperately tried to manufacture a little heat between their two protagonists with the dimmed lights, a multitude of candles, and the folksy female vocalist crooning, "It’s Been Awhile") Buffy and Riley have smoochies. He compliments her on her emotional fortitude, she confesses that she’s just been "hiding the weepy chicken within." Riley looks sad. Poor Riley. She never let him see her cry. Maybe that’s because he was too busy getting drunk at Willy’s Bar or cheating on Buffy with some vamp-ho. Or maybe it’s because Buffy has been emotionally distant since Angel, incapable of letting Riley, or any man, into her life. Maybe it’s a bit of both. Anyway, after much sappiness Riley and Buffy do get it on, although what Noxon’s shooting script calls "an 8:00pm climax" comes off as a bit fake. Buffy should take a few lessons from Meg Ryan. Perhaps Buffy is not entirely satisfied with her man? Well, there’s an obsessed vampire lurking outside who probably thinks he could do a better job. And since I’m Sanguine and I love Spike and this is my review, we’re now moving back into the realm of

The Good

Spike suspects what is going on inside and it pains him. And yet, being the masochistic demon he is, he can’t bring himself to leave. Inside the house, Riley arises from bed, and we see a big old scar on his chest. Why didn’t the Buffster notice his multiple suck wounds? Oh, that’s right. She was too swept away by the pleasure of his company. Anyway, Spike has finally had enough of being pitiful and he shakes his head in self-loathing. But wait! What big lug from yonder house breaks? It’s Riley, slinking away from Buffy’s warm bed. Spike is intrigued and decides to follow Riley. When he sees where Riley arrive at the bordello of blood his facial expression is fascinating. The shooting script instructs Marsters to narrow his eyes in disbelief. He does a wonderful job at this moment conveying not only the disbelief called for by Noxon, but also a bit of concern. Not concern for Riley of course, but perhaps for Buffy. He knows this will hurt her. He also realises that she should know what’s going on.

After a revealing scene in the hospital between Buffy and her mother in which Buffy lets it slip that she’s given "Riley the night off" but he might be by later for, ahem, "Bible Study" we cut to a naked Buffy in bed, perhaps waiting to spend some "quality time with the Lord." She is sleeping peacefully until she hears a noise. "Riley?" No, it’s Spike. Spike being his usual equivocal, complicated self says, "As usual I’m here to help you and . . . are you naked under there?" Spike, Spike, Spike. Usually when one tries to be helpful and kind, one does not include a lecherous comment. But that’s why we love ya (or why I do anyway). Spike tells Buffy that he wants to show her something and she agrees to go with him only if he’ll turn around and let her get dressed. "Please. Like I give a bloody damn." But oh boy does Spike give a damn, as he draws an unneeded, shaky breath.

So Buffy and Spike go out for a little midnight stroll. Spike opens the door to the den of inequity for Buffy (what a gentleman that William) and what do they find? "My Boyfriend’s Visiting Vamp-Hos!" (next Jerry Springer). Riley’s caught red-handed, or red-wristed as the case may be. "Harder" he says grimly. Then he sees her. "Buffy!" And yet he doesn’t push his vamp-ho away. Yup. This boy’s addicted. Spike smirks, his voice dripping with mock sincerity, "We only came here because we care about you, friend. You need help." That spurs Riley into action. He leaps for Spike, but Spike has already taken off after a very distraught Buffy. In the alleyway, Buffy looks as if she might be sick. Spike tries to offer an explanation, "I thought you should know." Buffy shoots him a look dripping with hatred and Spike’s expression registers the weight of what he’s done to her. Sometimes being the messenger is not a good thing. Poor Spikey.

Next we are treated to vengeful Buffy. Although Giles tells her that her energies would be better spent trying to fight a "less ambiguous evil" (implying that vampires are inherently ambiguous) Buffy replies that "Vampires are vampires." Seeing her boyfriend frolicking with one has only hardened her opinions. Vampires are evil. End of story. That’s why it’s strange that she takes her family to stay with one (Spike) a few short episodes later. But I digress. Anyway, Buffy goes all Rambo and torches the bordello of blood. Apparently, no one ever told Buffy that revenge is a dish best served cold.

The interaction between Riley and Spike that follows is really brilliant. I even liked the fake staking of Spike. Serves us all right for believing online spoilage that doesn’t come from AnGelX! This scene really highlights the parallels between Riley’s character and Spike’s character. Both men love Buffy. Both men don’t really have her. Spike tells Riley that the "Girl needs some monster in her man." The shooting script indicates that "Riley deflates a little at this--knows there’s truth in it." So we have confirmation that Buffy does enjoy flirting with the darkside (as if we didn’t already know . . . Angel, Dracula, her non-stakage of Spike). Buffy may like darkness, but she also craves normalcy; therefore, while Spike may be too much of a monster, Riley is too much of a man. Spike and Riley proceed to bond over a bottle of whisky and Spike bares his undead heart: "Sometimes I envy you so much it chokes me. And then sometimes I think I’ve got the better deal. To be that close to her and not have her . . . To be all alone even when you’re holding her, feeling her, feeling her beneath you, surrounding you, the scent of -- no you’ve go the better deal." This speech has been discussed endlessly. Spike realises how lonely it must be to be so close to Buffy and yet not really have her. But lust overcomes him and he wonders, perhaps, if a physical relationship would be enough. I guess we’ll find out when he boffs his BuffyBot. But of course, the BuffyBot won’t be Buffy and it won’t have her scent. I hope Spike won’t be satisfied with a mere simulacrum of Buffy. I hope he realises he does want something more than sex. But who knows? He is a lusty demon after all . . . After this great scene, the episode stops smack dab in the land of

The Ugly

The confrontation between Buffy and Riley really irked me the first time I saw it, although I was slightly less miffed when I watched it a second time. In particular, I disliked the imputation by Riley and then by Xander that Buffy’s emotional unavailability was somehow responsible for Riley’s behaviour. However, my husband pointed out this morning, if someone is ignored and feels unwanted they can react inappropriately. It is a very human response, so I suppose I’ll cut Riley a bit of slack (and he was at his most interesting as a character when dancing with vamps). Here’s my take on the situation as it played out. Riley neglect by Buffy predates her preoccupation with her mother’s illness. He was upset when Dracula bit her and he told Xander very early in the season that he knew that she didn’t love him (The Replacement). So it wasn’t simply a matter of Buffy shutting Riley out because of her mother’s illness. She had been taking him for granted for months. Buffy was partially responsible for the demise of their relationship. However, Riley’s reaction to the situation was pretty extreme and immature. Also, I didn’t like the ultimatum he gave her. She finds out that he’s cheating on her and she only has a few hours to get over it before she has to make a major decision concerning their future. That’s asking quite a bit (and it was a pretty transparent plot device to get Riley off the show very quickly).

In this scene I was struck again by the parallels between Riley and Spike. Both men react badly to rejection (Riley visits vamp-hos, Spike chains Buffy up). Both men challenge Buffy’s opinions about the nature of vampires. Riley describes the passion that his vamp-ho felt for him when he allowed her to feed. He no longer views her as simply a creature to be exterminated. He has become too close to her. Similarly Spike describes the passion he feels for Buffy, defying the conventional wisdom that a vampire cannot love. Furthermore, both men have a masochistic streak a mile wide. In Fool for Love, Spike asks Buffy to hit him, to "Give it to me good Buffy." In Into the Woods Riley says, "Go ahead. Go on. Do it. I’m serious Buffy. Hit me." Both men crave physical contact with the Slayer and believe that somehow if she hits them it is a sign she cares. Pretty twisted, no? In both cases, she does not fulfill their requests. She does not immediately succumb to her violent urges. In Riley’s case, she saves her real anger for her "ambiguous" enemies, the vamp-hos, causing her sink even deeper into a bit old pit of ugly.

Buffy’s reaction to Riley’s revelations and ultimatum is extreme. She wanders aimlessly through Sunnydale and finds trouble. She is cornered by a big group of vamps from the bordello of blood and in a fit of cold rage she dispatches them all. Except one. Riley’s vamp trull. The shooting script describes the scene as follows: "The whole fight takes about eight seconds--and the only other creature left standing in the alley besides Buffy is the junkie vampire who bit Riley. The girl trembles, wide-eyed, before Buffy. Clearly messed up and harmless. Buffy hesitates. She can’t kill this one. It stinks of pointless vengeance . . . A beat as the junkie girl realizes she’s being spared. Then the girl takes off running down the alley . . . Then, without warning, Buffy hurtles her weapon toward the retreating vampire girl. WHOMP! She impales the junkie vamp girl . . ." Buffy just stands there, expressionless. She has arrived at Dark Slayer Station. Obviously in the Buffyverse (and judging from Noxon’s description in the shooting script) not all vampires are created equally evil.

Even Xander, no fan of vamps himself, is not pleased by Buffy’s excessive violence. He confronts Buffy and in a mostly insightful speech (I would disagree that Riley was the one-in-a-lifetime guy) he encourages her to go after Riley if she believes she could try again with him, and be more emotionally available. This spurs Buffy to run right into

Badsville

Why, oh why did we have to see Buffy running desperately after the helicopter? I suppose if you were a Riley/Buffy shipper then this moment was incredibly poignant. For me, it was not. I waved at my TV screen and squealed with evil glee, "Hasta la vista baby."
 

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