Have I missed any that were added in past recaps? Let me know in the comments. \u00a0Even though I might forget that you mentioned it.<\/span><\/p>\n WARNING: Some people have mentioned they\u2019re watching along with me, and that\u2019s awesome, but I\u2019ve seen the entire series already and I\u2019ll probably mention things that happen in later seasons. So\u2026 you know, take that under consideration, if you\u2019re a person who can\u2019t enjoy something if you know future details about it.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n At Stevenson Hall on the campus of good old UC Sunnydale, Buffy’s roommate, Kathy, is cheerfully ironing her jeans to Cher’s “Believe” while Buffy looks through Kathy’s CDs in dismay. To escape, Buffy says she’s going out to get some coffee and study.<\/p>\n Kathy: “I guess I just didn’t realize you’d be coming and going at all hours. Oh, not that I mind! I’m just surprised.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Just in case you were worried that this is Kathy’s only passive-aggressive tendency, she’s set up a call-logging system so there won’t be any “problems” when the phone bill comes. Also, she mentions that some of her milk was missing from the mini-fridge. She insists that it’s not a big deal, but you can tell that it’s kind of a big deal. With just one tiny scene, we know that Kathy is a total nightmare to live with.<\/p>\n Buffy meets up with Willow, who jokes about Buffy still having to sneak out of her room.<\/p>\n Buffy: “Listening to the best of VH-1 all day sort of put me on edge.”<\/p>\n Willow: “Kathy still spinning the Divas?”<\/p>\n Buffy: “‘Cause it’s the funnest!”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Buffy holds out hope that college will change Kathy’s tastes to, randomly, trip-hop. I don’t remember much trip-hop ever being used on this show. I mean, off the top of my head, all I can think of is Cibo Matto made that one appearance, and maybe there’s a Massive Attack song in here somewhere? That last one is really only a guess based on the fact that in the ’90s it was actually illegal to make a television show without a Massive Attack song on the soundtrack.<\/p>\n Willow’s roommate situation isn’t going very well, either, but she tells Buffy that it’s just an adjustment they’re both going to have to make. They part ways, never noticing the demon lurking in the shadows.<\/p>\n After the opening credits, we rejoin Buffy on the dark and spooky campus. She’s listening to the tell-tale cracking of twigs underfoot that portend the arrival of a monster, but it’s just Kathy, catching up to tag along for coffee. As she opines about the fresh air, the demon from before the credits springs out. Buffy shoves Kathy off the path and out of harm’s way, and the demon barely fights before running away again. Cradling her wrist, Kathy rejoins Buffy on the path, where Buffy makes up a story about almost being mugged. Kathy laments her ruined sweater and the fact that Buffy could have gotten seriously hurt taking on an attacker. As Buffy leads Kathy back to the dorm, the demon joins another demon friend in the shadows. They talk about “her” possibly being “the one” but they have to make certain by following “her.”<\/p>\n Cut to the courtyard outside Giles’s house, where Buffy is going through his mail while Giles almost dies from attempting to jog. She tells Giles about the demon, but he’s more concerned with the idea of her roommate tagging along with her on patrols. He tells Buffy that he’ll look into the demon and give her a call when he’s got info, but Buffy isn’t in a hurry to leave.<\/p>\n Buffy: “What are you doing today?”<\/p>\n Giles: “It’s a big day for me, actually. A friend of mine recently acquired an original Guttenberg demonography and it suddenly occurs to me that you’ve never once asked me what my day’s plans were, which would lead me to inquire whether you’re feeling entirely yourself.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n I had to include this line because it’s really cool. From a writer’s perspective, I feel like Giles is the most difficult character to transition out of the high school days of this show. After all, he was a staff member at the school, which is now a smoking crater in the ground. He can no longer be identified as just “the librarian,” which was sort of his thing. He’s no longer any of the things we’ve seen him be on this show. He’s not a Watcher anymore, he’s not a librarian anymore, and while he knows all sorts of sorcery-type stuff, it’s not like you can return him to that life without serious character regression and possible evil!Giles. So, how do you adapt him to the new direction the story has taken? You show him taking up various new hobbies like jogging and, judging from the magazine Buffy finds in his mail, mopeds. And while you do that, you keep some things hopelessly, dorkily, the same. You could remove that “It’s a big day for me” line and drop it into any of the previous seasons. Marti Noxon wrote this episode, and I really feel like she understands the characters better than any of the other writers on the show. Better, even, than Joss Whedon himself sometimes. Noxon writes the show the way a fan would have written the show.<\/p>\n Anyway, back to the episode. Buffy admits she’s looking for a way to kill time until Kathy is out of the room, but Giles has no patience for Buffy’s dramatics. He tells her that she’s going to have to learn how to get along with someone else, and Buffy resolves to be a better roommate.<\/p>\n Cut to the dorm, where Kathy grumpily scrubs a stain out of her sweater with what appears to be turpentine?<\/p>\n Emphasis on that can mine. This is a laundry trick I’ve never heard of but I’m loath\u00a0to chalk it up to just “Kathy is a demon who doesn’t understand being human” because I don’t know that much about laundry in the first place. Realizing her sweater is hopeless, Kathy helps herself to one from Buffy’s closet. While she’s in there, she finds a bag full of crossbow and wooden stakes.<\/p>\n In the dining hall, Buffy cuts in line in front of this fucking douchebag:<\/p>\n This character has a name, but I’m not going to use it. Stupid Fucking Douchebag is good enough for him. SFD. That’s his name. He’s fine with Buffy cutting in line because she’s clearly avoiding someone. He pegs Buffy for a freshman right off the bat and gives her tips on abusing the dining program. He’s meeting someone for lunch, and Xander, Willow, and Oz are waiting for Buffy, so she and SFD part ways.<\/p>\n Xander is visiting campus why? Because his friends have dining cards and he’s hungry. His parents aren’t feeding him, so he’s scavenging off Willow’s plate. And of course, Xander’s situation is endearing because it gives a reason for the gang to get back together. But nobody seems alarmed at the idea of their friend not being able to afford…eating. I mean, that’s so basic. But everyone is just cool with it because\u00a0#36<\/strong>.<\/p>\n Xander also revisits\u00a0#5<\/strong>, outlining his “hit on women and run” strategy. But it’s hard to be too angry with him when he’s also eager for an apocalypse. We spend so much time focused on Buffy and Willow and the changes they’re dealing with post-high school, we really don’t get much about Xander beyond, “He can’t keep a job and he’s poor.” The fact that he would rather face the end of the world than his current situation, just so he can get a hit of that sweet, sweet high school nostalgia should be heartbreaking.<\/p>\n Kathy arrives on the scene and literally pushes her way in at their table. She’s under the mistaken impression that since she and Buffy are roommates, they’re also friends now. Buffy notices that Kathy is wearing her sweater, and Kathy points out that Buffy ruined\u00a0her<\/em> sweater.<\/p>\n Buffy: “I was saving you from a\u2013”<\/p>\n Willow: “Bear!”<\/p>\n Buffy: “…mugger.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Then Kathy takes a big bite of her burger and gets ketchup all over Buffy’s sweater, giving rise to one of the greatest gifs of all time:<\/p>\n Later that night, Buffy is complaining about this on the phone to Willow, who’s got her own roommate situation she’s admirably trying to be optimistic about:<\/p>\n Then Kathy comes back to the room and starts FLOSSING. She starts FLOSSING. FLOSSING, like it’s normal to just sit there and FLOSS your teeth near other people. I am sorry, but that gross shit is confined to the bathroom, only. You don’t just sit there and spray your plaque all over the place!<\/p>\n Things get weirder…<\/p>\n You know someone in the writers’ room was like, “I once had this roommate who labeled their eggs!” and everyone was like, “We’ve got to put that in!”<\/p>\n Kathy isn’t alone in her war of passive-aggression. When she picks up her book to read, she finds it stuck to the table with gum. When she asks Buffy (who is chewing gum) who put gum there, Buffy swallows and plays dumb.<\/p>\n I remember the first time I watched this episode. I was like, “Where does the demon come in?” because I was not down for a non-supernatural episode of Buffy overreacting to minor roommate annoyances. I mean, she seems really spoiled in this one, even if Kathy is an obnoxious person. But then they go to sleep and Buffy dreams of that demon from the beginning. And, oh good, he pours blood into her mouth and sucks light out of her and puts a scorpion on her and stuff. Totally normal Buffy dream, actually. But she wakes up to find Kathy staring at her and demanding to know if Buffy always makes so much noise in her sleep.<\/p>\n So, I want to talk about this:<\/p>\n I know they shot exteriors for Sunnydale High at Torrance High because that’s where\u00a0all<\/em> ’90s teen movies and television shows shot their exteriors. But I assumed the interiors were shot on a set. Just like I assume that while they used UCLA and an office park to film exteriors for UC Sunnydale, the interiors are shot on a set. I mean, I could be wrong. I’ve honestly never watched any kind of “making of” about Buffy. But either way, doesn’t this look just a\u00a0little<\/em> too much like the lounge area at Sunnydale High? Just in basic composition of where shit is? I’m expecting the vending machines to be off to the left, and Cordelia to come bopping down the stairs in the back. Even if these were both shot on location (and like I said, they very well may be and I wouldn’t have a clue), why pick two locations that look so incredibly alike? Especially when trying to basically reboot the series as Buffy: The College Years<\/em>.<\/p>\n Anyway, Buffy is telling Oz and Willow and Giles about her dream:<\/p>\n Buffy: “And the worst part? I wake up and there’s Kathy staring at me like I’m some sort of freak.”<\/p>\n Oz: “Well, actually, the worst part I’d have to go with the demon pouring blood down your throat.”<\/p>\n Willow: “Me too. I would vote for that, too.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Just as Giles starts to talk about figuring out what Buffy’s dream means, Kathy arrives. Buffy is\u00a0thrilled<\/em> to introduce them.<\/p>\n Willow: “He’s our grown up friend. Not in a, a creepy way.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n It certainly didn’t strike any adults as creepy when he was hanging around you in high school. When it should have.<\/p>\n Kathy tells Giles about the weird dream she had the night before, which is exactly like the dream Buffy had.\u00a0Buffy pointedly tells Kathy that she should go to class, and Kathy makes a dig about Buffy keeping her up all night. Giles points out that Kathy having the same dream means something, but Buffy’s in full Kathy-hate obsession mode:<\/p>\n Buffy: “Not only does she take my sweater, but now she has to horn in on my dreams? She is the most ever mooch\u2013oh! I haven’t even gotten to the floss.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Yes, thank you, the FLOSS! Why is nobody talking about the FLOSS?<\/p>\n Giles gently suggests that maybe if Buffy and Kathy both had the same dream, they’re both being affected by the demon they ran into that night on the path. Buffy tells her friends to research it while she goes to class, and when she leaves, Willow says:<\/p>\n Willow: “Okay, so that was the evil twin, right? Because she was bordering on Cordelia-esque.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Giles chalks Buffy’s bad mood up to learning to live with a roommate, but he tells them to keep an eye on her, anyway.<\/p>\n You know what’s cool about Buffy bordering on Cordelia-esque? The fact that Sarah Michelle Gellar was originally considered for Cordelia, and this episode kind of gives us a clue how she would have played it.<\/p>\n The two demons meet around a fire. They talk about how they’ve definitely found the right girl, and they make plans to summon an even bigger demon than themselves. Then we cut to the dorm, where Buffy braces herself to enter the Cher zone. When she opens the door, she finds SFD reclining all cozily on Kathy’s bed, and they’re only keeping one foot on the floor. He’s talking about how underrated female pop artists are because of course he is. But he’s come by to drop off some plastic baggies for Buffy to take food from the dining hall with her. Kathy, however, goes on and on, giggling about how much fun SFD is and how much they have in common. She’s definitely flirting with SFD, and Buffy gets real testy about it. Like, makes SFD visibly uncomfortable. And here’s the thing: I don’t think Buffy’s behavior is justified here. At all. Even a little. She’s had one conversation with SFD. That’s not a contract. And while I don’t think SFD should ever get with a girl ever again ever, I do think he has the right to flirt with other girls even if he’s talked to our main character. This doesn’t make me dislike Kathy; it makes me dislike Buffy.<\/p>\n Kathy’s not in the liking Buffy business, either. They get into a fight and she says:<\/p>\n Kathy: “Your problem is, you’re spoiled. Maybe the world revolved around you where you used to live, but it’s share time now!”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n And Buffy’s response is to “share” all of the prominently labeled milk with her mouth, her chin, and the floor.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Willow and Oz are talking about being worried for Buffy. Willow is wracked with guilt over the fact that she has too much homework to spend time with Buffy and be a good friend. Oz steps up and reminds her that he’s also Buffy’s friend and can totally hang out with her. As he heads off to do that, he walks past a group of people. One girl, in particular, catches his eye in a suspicious way, and she gives him that same suspicious glance, while behind them, more of those commandos from the end of the last episode sneak obviously through the bushes. Like, hello, how is no one on a busy campus noticing armed soldiers storming through the commons?<\/p>\n Buffy patrols and complains to Oz about Kathy for a while, until Oz suggests:<\/p>\n Oz: “Just a…just a thought, Buffy, do you think all this ranting is scaring away potential demons?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Which doesn’t make Buffy shut up about Kathy. It just makes her blame Kathy for fucking up her slayage. Then she kicks a bench in half. She says something has to be done about Kathy, and Oz ominously agrees.<\/p>\n Back at the dorm, Buffy is annoyed by the sound of Kathy clipping her toenails, so she retaliates by tapping her pencil on her textbook. Then Kathy retaliates by turning on Cher again. So Buffy puts on ear muffs. So Kathy gets a labeled hardboiled egg out and passive-aggressively peels it while staring Buffy down, until Buffy announces that she’s going to bed.<\/p>\n And what happens when Buffy sleeps?<\/p>\n Buffy wakes up, startled, just before Kathy does, as well.<\/p>\n Later that morning, Kathy is talking to Willow about all the issues that have been going on. Kathy says she has a feeling that Buffy isn’t normal, which Buffy overhears. Kathy leaves and Buffy demands to know why Willow was talking to her. Willow, having reached the breaking point with this bullshit, says it’s time for Buffy to let it go.<\/p>\n Buffy: “You’re right. I’ve been thinking a lot about this and it’s clear to me now.”<\/p>\n Willow: “Good. That’s better.”<\/p>\n Buffy: “Kathy’s evil. I’m an evil fighter. It’s simple. I’m gonna have to kill her.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Spooky music, cut to commercial.<\/p>\n I love the red herrings this episode throws at us. At first, we’re like, “Kathy is fucking terrible and Buffy is frustrated with having to deal with a terrible roommate.” Then, we’re like, “Something demonic is fucking with them both, so even though they’re both unbearable, once we get this demon thing worked out, they’ll be fine.”<\/p>\n After the commercial, Willow asks Buffy like, you know, do you really have to kill her, and Buffy produces proof that Kathy is a demon: a bag of her toenail clippings. Which she collected when Kathy was in the bathroom. And measured. And then measured again the next morning, which is how she knows they kept growing after they were cut.<\/p>\n Buffy is\u00a0really<\/em> not making a great case for herself here.<\/p>\n Willow pretends to agree that Kathy is obviously demonic and Buffy should kill her but suggests maybe she should show the toenails to Giles, first. And Buffy is like, well, of course, I’m not going to do anything crazy. Which falls under\u00a0#14<\/strong>, because ha ha, crazy people are dangerous murderers, even though I really love this episode and I don’t want to find anything bad about it because of that. But it’s there, and despite my complicated feels about the words “crazy” and “insane” from a mentally ill person’s perspective, I can’t really let this slide, as much as it hurts me to criticize this show sometimes.<\/p>\n Willow decides to give Giles a heads up:<\/p>\n Willow: “Giles, I just talked to Buffy and, yeah, I think she’s feeling a little…insane. No, not bitchy-crazy. More like homicidal-maniac-crazy? So I told her to come see you, ‘kay?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n So, yeah,\u00a0#14<\/strong>. Because of the equating mental illness with violence. I do like to imagine the other side of that conversation, though, in which Giles presumably uses the word “bitchy”.<\/p>\n Buffy goes to Giles’s house, which seems empty. Then Giles throws a net over her and Xander and Oz emerge to help him wrestle Buffy to the ground long enough to tie her up. Which is just like, a whole separate genre of Buffy fanfic to itself.<\/p>\n Buffy: “Giles, look in my bag! Look in the bottom pocket of my bag! She has parts that keep growing after they’re detached! She irons her jeans! She’s evil. She has to be destroyed.”<\/p>\n Giles: “I fear the demon that Buffy met in the woods has somehow possessed her.”<\/p>\n Buffy: “Light FM! Love songs! Nothing but love songs!”<\/p>\n Xander: “Ya think?”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Giles tells Oz and Xander that there’s a spell he can do to get rid of the possession, but he needs supplies. Then, he runs out the door. Like, he super does not want to get his ass beat by a Slayer, so he leaves Oz and Xander behind to deal with that.<\/p>\n Meanwhile, Willow goes to Buffy’s room to find Kathy. Willow tells her that maybe it’s a good idea to get away for a while. Like, to get away from Buffy, and soon. Kathy is understandably alarmed and offended. She says that Buffy should be institutionalized (#14<\/strong>) and then says something that, given the first episode of the season, should be a red flag to Willow:<\/p>\n Kathy: “I wouldn’t put it past her to drop out or take off or something. Do something horrible to herself?”<\/p>\n Willow: “Herself?”<\/p>\n Kathy: “Or worse. She’s capable of it, you know? You can see it in those shifty little eyes of hers. One of these days, she might even push somebody too far.”<\/p><\/blockquote>\n Now, we don’t know Kathy is a demon at this point. We don’t really have a\u00a0reason<\/em> to think Kathy is a demon. We’re thinking that Buffy is possessed by the demon and has become dangerous as a result. The other possibilities seem plausible enough that we don’t question them. Because Marti Noxon is great at this. However, we do know that we\u00a0just<\/em> saw an episode where vampires were killing students and leaving notes saying they’ve run away. So, that’s a clue there. Kathy is the one doing the wacky late night blood and scorpion fests with Buffy’s sleeping body, and clearly, this is going to lead to some physical or mental consequences for her, so Kathy has to set up why Buffy suddenly dies or disappears, right?<\/p>\n But you only really see that on rewatch because, again, Noxon is great at this.<\/p>\n Back at Giles’s house, Xander is worried that he didn’t tie Buffy up tight enough. He and Oz go to check on the knots, and surprise, they definitely did not tie her up tight enough. She smacks their little heads together and knocks them out.<\/p>\n You know…here’s something that isn’t just\u00a0Buffy<\/em>, but pretty much all TV shows: does our portrayal of head injuries in the media influence our attitude toward traumatic brain injury and is that why it’s so difficult to get people to take\u00a0chronic traumatic encephalopathy<\/a><\/span>\u00a0seriously? And considering the number of times Giles has been knocked out already, why haven’t I dropped that link before?<\/p>\n Anyway, Buffy goes back to the dorm to confront Kathy, and it’s like, clear that this is going to be a showdown. But it’s still so surprising when Kathy actually punches Buffy, like super hard. And then Buffy…<\/p>\n Well, there’s no good way to put this. She tears Kathy’s face right off. And underneath is the demon Buffy has been dreaming about:<\/p>\n![\"Kathy](\"https:\/\/jennytrout.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2017\/10\/kathy-turpentine.jpg\")
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