Ozzily Yours

Monday, July 18, 2011

Out of Mind, Out of Sight

Adam807 mentioned that he was particularly disappointed by the rewatch of this episode, one of his old favorites. And maybe due to that I went in with low expectations, for which I should thank him, because I found it delightful.

It's true that the pacing was a little goofy and the "big reveal" was pretty obvious early on - but it was an interesting plotline that really served Joss Whedon's central theory that high school = hell. I think Clea DuVall is adorable and generally underused and I actually like her work in the flashback scenes - she really captures the awkwardness of trying (and failing) to insert yourself into a conversation.

I also never registered before the parallel story that we're supposed to be getting w/r/t Buffy - the fact that, even though she's made great friends in Willow and Xander, she still feels left out quite frequently when the three of them are together as evidenced by the "Be my deputy!" story, when they both get the giggles remembering a Cordelia incident from grade school. (Also, Alyson Hannigan and Nicolas Brendon do a lovely job busting out the inside joke and then realizing how rude it is... but not being able to control the giggles anyway.)

This episode also gave us the first portrayal of Cordelia as human - she (briefly) opens up to Buffy about how popularity isn't necessarily always protection against loneliness... and she attempts to genuinely thank them at the end of the episode, but her popular buddies shame her into walking away. I feel like it sets up Cordelia for her later reluctant transformation into a member of the gang.

And, of course, the very end of this episode can't be beat - "We'll rehabilitate her, make her a useful member of society." OF COURSE the CIA would be recruiting invisible, lonely teenagers to be assassins! AWESOME.

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