Writer:

Marti Noxon

Director:

David Semel

Regulars:

Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers

Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris

Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg

Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase

David Boreanaz as Angel

Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles

Guest Stars:

Seth Green as Oz

Bianca Lawson as Kendra

James Marsters as Spike

Juliet Landau as Drusilla

Cast:

Saverio Guerra as Willy

Kelly Connell as Worm-man

Danny Strong as Hostage Kid

Spice Williams as Patrice

In this episode, Spike invokes the name of Elegor, a fictional demon or god described as "black master of decay," and "bringer of war, poisoners, pariahs, grand obscenity." Also see the Monstervision from Part 1.

Willy, as Spike drags an unconscious Angel away: "What are you gonna do with him anyway?"
Spike: "I'm thinking... maybe dinner and a movie. I don't want to rush into anything. I've been hurt, you know."

Cordelia: "Here! I don't do worms."

Oz: "Well, I sorta test well. Y'know, which is cool. Except that it leads to jobs."
Willow: "Well, don't you have any ambition?"
Oz: "Oh, yeah. Yeah. E-flat diminished ninth."
Willow: "Huh?"
Oz: "Well, the E-flat, it's... it's doable. But it's that diminished ninth, you know... it's a man's chord. You could lose a finger."

Xander: "Who sponsored career day today? The British Soccer Fan Association?"

Xander: "Angel's our friend! Except I don't like him."

Drusilla: "Say 'uncle.' Oh, that's right, you killed my uncle."

Oz, to Willow: "The monkey's the only cookie animal that gets to wear clothes, you know that? You have the sweetest smile I've ever seen. So I'm wondering, do the other cookie animals feel sorta ripped? Like, is the hippo going, 'Hey, where are my pants? I have my hippo dignity.' And, you know, the monkey's just (French accent) 'I mock you with my monkey pants.' And then there's a big coup at the zoo."
Willow: "The monkey is French?"
Oz: "All monkeys are French. You didn't know that?"

More quotes from this episode...

• "Back off, Pink Ranger!"  In the color-coded children's series Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers, the role of Pink Ranger was originally filled by Amy Jo Johnson, as Kimberly Hart, from 1993 to 1995. The reference is actually an in-joke, as SMG's stunt double, Sophia Crawford, used to be Johnson's stunt double on Power Rangers. Johnson left the series in 1995, after playing Kimberly in Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers: The Movie, but reprised the role in 1997's Turbo: A Power Rangers Movie. Interestingly, she now has a costarring role as Julie Emrick on the WB's Felicity.

• "Okay, Mary Kay..."  Mary Kay is a cosmetics company that was started by Mary Kay Ash in 1963, and which has now grown into a multimillion dollar international corporation. The company gained quite a bit of unwanted notoriety in the 1980's when they came under heavy scrutiny for the cruelty of their product testing on animals.

  

• "It's a little more complicated than that, John Wayne."  John Wayne was the stage name of Marion Michael Morrison (1907-1979), who starred in nearly 200 movies in his fifty-year career, and who came to typify the American Man and, by extension, the United States itself.

• "When this is over I'm thinking pineapple pizza and teen video movie fest. Possibly something from the Ringwald oeuvre."  Molly Ringwald was a staple of the sorts of immensely popular teenage-oriented comedies made in the 1980's, most of which were written, directed, or both by John Hughes. Sixteen Candles (1984), The Breakfast Club (1985), and Pretty in Pink (1986) are the three best-known of these movies.

• "I am the bug man, coo coo ka choo."  The Beatles' psychedelic 1967 song "I Am The Walrus" is famous for the line, "I am the eggman, they are the eggmen/ I am the walrus, goo goo g'joob." Xander's version is close enough.

  

• Spike refers to Buffy as "Rebecca of Sunnyhell Farm." Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm was a hugely popular 1903 children's book by kindergarten teacher Kate Douglas Wiggin (1856-1923), which told of the adventures of spunky little farm girl Rebecca Rowena Randall, sent from Sunnybrook Farm by her widowed mother to live with her aunt and uncle in town. It was turned into a play and later into at least three movies, including a 1917 silent version starring Mary Pickford and a hit 1938 version starring Shirley Temple.

• In "Never Kill a Boy on the First Date," Giles says that he has no instruction manual, but now we find out there is a Slayer Handbook. Either Giles didn't know about it back then, or it doesn't have actual "instructions," or this is a consistency error.
        Spotted by Nikki.

• Kendra's Watcher is named Sam Zabuto, with whom Giles is familiar but who he has never actually met. It is never stated where exactly Kendra comes from; wherever it is it's a small village where the calling of the Slayer is taken very seriously.

• Someone named Draemius has written at least six dull, footnote-laden volumes of lore used by the Watchers, and volume six contains information about the Order of Taraka.

• There is a Slayer Handbook, which Giles felt would be useless in regards to Buffy and so declined to give her a copy.

• Spice Williams, who plays Patrice the demon assassin policewoman, was not credited for some reason.

• Buffy and Xander make reference to Xander's ill-fated crush on Ms. French the biology teacher in "Teacher's Pet."
• There are forty-three churches in Sunnydale.
• Angel talks as though he had a romantic, or at least sexual, relationship with Drusilla in the past, although he might just be saying that to get a rise out of Spike.
• Seth Green said in an Ultimate TV chat that the line "I mock you with my monkey pants" was an idea of Alyson's; she had dreamt that Seth said that, and Joss decided to use it.

Brian:

Willow and Oz... long may they love. Honestly, that's the part of this episode that left the strongest impression on me. Maybe it's because I identify with Oz or because I have such a big ol' yen for Willow, but I felt the long-awaited payoff to the two-month-old Oz Tease was not only well worth the wait, but possibly the best interpersonal chemistry on the show to date (I really truly was made to believe these two are totally right for one another in a way that's never completely happened for me with Buffy and Angel) and the only part of this episode that completely satisfied me. It's funny how over the months I've been watching Buffy, I've come to anticipate and enjoy the drama and romance much more than the action, horror or even comedy. The rest of the episode was excellent, but each of the individual parts besides Oz/Willow felt like it was lacking something. The Xander/Cordelia thing was entertaining and well-acted, but marred unconscionably by the cheesy orchestral swell that occurred both times they kissed. (I know it was an intentional attempt at blatant camp, but I felt it was a misfire nevertheless.) Buffy/Kendra was, again, well-acted and a nice story, but suffered from a lack of genuine chemistry between SMG and Bianca Lawson — I felt that they weren't acting together, but merely acting near one another. And the main plotline was rousing and an adequate conclusion to last week's set up, but... well, it just wasn't as enjoyable for me. Perhaps it's the nagging feeling I have that everything that happened in part two of "What's My Line" was, instead of a legitimate conclusion to a large but self-supporting story, merely groundwork for Joss's plans for the rest of the second season. I was left, not with the satisfaction of a story well-told, but more interested in what's to come than what has gone before. Not necessarily a bad thing, but not a reflection of perfection on this episode. (7/10)

Will:

Oh my!!! Color me speechless, not that I should be surprised at all by how good this episode was. My prediction after last week's episode was right on the money. I didn't care for last week's offering because I found it to be too slow. This week's episode made up for it. I didn't really care for Kendra's voice, but she was a wonderful guest character for the show. I also didn't mind that she saved Buffy's life. My list of things that I liked is quite long this week. First of all: finally, sweet, adorable Willow finds love with a normal guy (spoiler... he has a skeleton in his closet). The character of Oz is wonderfully amusing, shy and fun. Willow and Oz make a great couple in my opinion. Next is the topic of foreplay: Xander and Cordy's verbal stabs at each other are nothing more than a really strange form of foreplay. I think that this situation will lead to some very interesting scenarios in upcoming episodes (just a prediction). I think that Drusilla regaining her strength opens up a big can of worms for Buffy, but I do love a good villain (don't we all?). I hope that she turns out to be even half as evil as I imagine that she will be. Lastly: the fight scene was absolutely great. Willow staked a vamp, Cordy crushing bugs, Giles with a crossbow, and two Slayers... how can you beat it? This episode was missing some of the wit of many past offerings, but what it lacked in wit it made up for in story, action and priceless moments. The smile on Willow's face during her conversation about animal crackers with Oz was great. I must say that giving every episode high marks for excellence makes me feel a bit strange, but what can I say? It is Joss's fault. He keeps on outdoing himself. (10/10)