Buffy the Vampire Slayer/Recap/S2/E10 What's My Line? Part 2

"Spike: What the hell is this?!

Buffy: It's your lucky day, Spike.

Kendra: Two Slayers!

Buffy: No waiting!"

We open straight onto where we left: Buffy and Kendra in Angel's apartment, putting up their dukes. Buffy tells her to knock off the Slayer cover-story. Kendra lapses into a speech worthy of Giles about how she is one girl in all the world, a chosen one with strength and skill to kill the vampires. Speaking of... Across town, Angel's huddled in a corner in his cage. The sun is blazing through the window now, and there is very little shade left.

Buffy and Kendra go to Giles for help in explaining their situation. They deduce that since Buffy was, for a moment, physically dead (in last season's finale), it caused the "activation" of the next Slayer. Their squabble reveals that Kendra had locked Angel in a cage, leaving him to be dusted at sunrise. Buffy and Kendra rush over there to find only an empty cage with a bit of smoke; Buffy fears the worst, but Kendra points out the absence of dust.

Willy the Snitch arrives in time to saves Angel, only to dump his body down a sewer grate where Spike is waiting. Spike hands Willy a wad of cash, and his men cart the severely-weakened Angel off.

Xander and Cordelia face bigger problems: Cordy is busy lecturing an increasingly-annoyed "salesman" about her complexion, to which he mechanically answers "$9.99 tax included." Xander spots a worm scurry across Norman's face, and warns Cordelia off. As he does so, Norman explodes into a pile of writhing maggots that chase Xander and Cordelia into the basement, slamming the door behind them.

Spike takes Angel back to the factory, where Dru coyly asks Spike to "let [her] have him." Spike agrees to let her play (i.e. torture), on the condition that she doesn't kill him, as he's needed for the ritual.

Back at school, Giles begins to bond with Kendra, who is more dedicated to her Slayer studies and training than Buffy. As the pair are left chatting about books, Buffy sourly ruminates on the co-existence of two slayers, and entertains the possibility of quitting and letting Kendra take over.

We cut back to Cordy and Xander who are still in Buffy's basement. Xander yells at her for letting in worm-guy; Cordelia fires back that Xander ought to be thinking up a plan, and he replies that he has one: to sit and wait for Buffy to come and save them. This sets off more arguing -- until finally, they grab each others' faces and kiss passionately, whilst the music swells to a cheesy high point with violins and clashing cymbals. They break apart and Xander, with a look of alarm, points out that they really need to get out of there. They carefully remove the duct tape from the door and peek out. Coast is clear. Xander makes it, but Cordelia is covered in a barrage of worms falling from the ceiling and starts squealing for Xander to help her as she runs out of the house. Xander grabs a garden hose and starts hosing her down, then they jump into the "Queen C" and swerve off down the road.

Buffy sulks down to the career fair to appease Principal Snyder. The female cop leading the seminar reads off Buffy's name, but when Buffy identifies herself, the officer draws her gun. Buffy avoids the spray of bullets, which instead hit Oz in the arm as he pushes Willow out of harm's way. Kendra comes to Buffy's rescue, and Assassin #3 makes her escape. The Scoobies gather in the library, where Giles inquires after Oz (the bullet just grazed him) and then announces that Spike intends to kill "Drusilla's sire" in a ritual in order to restore Drusilla to full strength.

Angel is tied to the bedposts in Drusilla's room, and it's not as fun as it sounds. Dru pours holy water on him (""It makes pretty colors") as she reminds him about how he killed her whole family. Angel taunts Spike with insinuations that Dru is enjoying this too much, and that Spike is unable to satisfy Dru, in hopes that Spike will kill him. Spike flips out, but Dru warns him not lose sight of the big picture.

The Slayers go kicking in Willy's door again. Buffy forces Willy to take her to the location of the ritual, but Kendra refuses to accompany her because "proper procedure" dictates they report to their Watcher first. So Buffy alone accompanies Willy, but it's a trap--he delivers her right into the assassins from earlier, then together they go into the church where the ritual is in progress: Angel and Dru are tied up beside the pulpit with a dagger through their palms. Spike orders Buffy's death, but at that moment, Kendra arrives to save her -- and she's brought the rest of the Scoobies with her. Xander taunts "Larva boy" to follow him, then lures him outside where Cordelia is waiting with a bucket of liquid glue. The sticky trap keeps the worms from re-materializing, allowing Cordy and Xander to stomp them. Spike starts a fire and rushes to untie the unconscious Dru, hoping that the ritual has had time to cure her. However, Buffy knocks him into a pipe organ, which collapses on top of him and Dru. She rushes to the floor to help the weakened Angel, and everyone beats a hasty retreat.

Willow finds Oz by the vending machine where he is buying a box of animal crackers. The two have a conversation in which Willow tries to thank Oz for saving her life (he "doesn't do" thanks) and the two walk off together.

Kendra and Buffy part on cordial terms--Kendra even wearing Buffy's shirt. She tells Buffy she does not blame her for being with Angel, but chastises that slaying is not "a job", it is a part of who they are.

Back at the soot-blackened church, Drusilla rises from the rubble, completely revived, and carrying an unconscious Spike.

Tropes
"Kendra: (fists up) Wiggy?
 * Acceptable Nationality Targets / Football Hooligans
 * Actor Allusion: Buffy tells Kendra to watch the movie on her flight home unless it's a "movie with a dog in it and Chevy Chase." This may be a reference to Funny Farm, a 1988 movie starring Chase that Gellar had a small, uncredited role in.
 * Kendra immediately accosting Willow in the library ("IDENTITY YOURSELF"), prompting Buffy to cut in, "Back off, Pink Ranger." This is likely an In Joke since Sophia Crawford was both Amy Jo Johnson's stunt double on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and SMG's on Buffy.
 * As Long As It Sounds Foreign: Buffy making Kendra promise not to go "wiggy" until they go talk to Giles and find out what's up.

Buffy: No kicko, no fighto."

"We were in Paris. You had a branding iron. And there were worms in my baguette."
 * Ask a Stupid Question : As the henchvamps pick Angel up and cart him off, Willy asks what they're planning to do to do with Angel. Spike: "I'm thinking maybe dinner and a movie. I don't want to rush into anything. I've been hurt, you know."
 * Attack Hello
 * Attack Of The School Festival
 * Bad Moon Rising: The restoration ritual requires the presence of Drusilla's sire, and must take place in a church on the night of the new moon.
 * Badass Normal: Patrice is an entirely human assassin.
 * Badass in Distress / Distressed Dude
 * Baddie Flattery
 * Battle Amongst the Flames
 * Berserk Button
 * Best Served Cold
 * Big Damn Heroes
 * Big Damn Kiss: Cordelia and Xander kiss (TWICE!) to the accompaniment of swelling cords.
 * Big "Shut Up!"
 * Big Stupid Doodoo Head / Lame Comeback
 * Big "What?"
 * Blatant Lies: After giving himself props for saving Angel(!), Willy says that he went underground to "recuperate."
 * Blood Magic: The key to Drusilla's cure.
 * Bloodstained Glass Windows
 * Book Ends / Bridal Carry
 * Bound and Gagged
 * Bread, Eggs, Milk, Squick: Drusilla's dream.

"Cordelia: You know, Nothing Personal, but maybe you should look into selling dictionaries.""
 * Bring Him to Me: Drusilla asks Spike if she can "have" Angel until the new moon. Spike drags Angel over to Dru, who says, "You've been a very bad daddy," and slaps him. Sometimes the fanfics write themselves, y'know?
 * Broken Record: "$9.99, tax included."

"Willow: Well, don't you have some ambition?
 * Call Back: To "Prophecy Girl".
 * Upon learning that Buffy is enrolled at SHS, Kendra casts her a disdainful look. "Right, of course. And I imagine she's a cheerleader as well." Buffy looks a bit cowed, and Giles chuckles that she actually was a cheerleader, and "it's a funny story."
 * "You and bug people, Xander. What's up with that?"
 * Cannot Talk to Men: Kendra gets flustered when talking to Xander and refuses to look at him. She tells Buffy later that her Watcher forbid her to have anything to do with boys.
 * Ceiling Cling: It's easier when you're a swarm of maggots.
 * Changed My Mind, Kid
 * Clueless Chick Magnet
 * Cold-Blooded Torture
 * Comfort Food
 * Cool Guns: The first two guns Patrice pulls on Buffy are Beretta 92F's. The one she pulls from her ankle holster appears to be a Walther.
 * Creepy Cathedral
 * Cruel Mercy
 * Cut His Heart Out With a Spoon: Spike gives Willy several bills, but adds a warning, "Talk and I'll have your guts for garters." For good measure, he drops one of the bills in the sewer water.
 * Dark Action Girl / Impersonating an Officer: Patrice the assassin lady. Also Gun Nut (she's packing at least three guns) and Nothing Up My Sleeve (has a switchblade up each arm).
 * Death By Looking Up
 * Defensive Feint Trap
 * Defiant to The End
 * Did Not Do the Research: When Buffy and Kendra are talking in Giles' office, Buffy is sharpening a knife, but it appears that what she is doing would just be blunting the knife.
 * Oz says that his current goal in life is to learn play an E flat diminished ninth chord. Despite his struggle, it's not an impossible chord on guitar.
 * Distressed Dude
 * Dope Slap: Xander's quip about Angelus getting "major neck in his day", earning him a smack from Willow.
 * Dreaming of Things to Come: Dru being awoken by Spike stroking her hair. "We were in Paris. You had a branding iron. And there were worms in my baguette."
 * Duct Tape for Everything: The larvae try to get in through the crack between the floor and the door. Xander stuffs the frame with duct tape.
 * Dynamic Entry: Patrice aims at Buffy from point-blank range, but a foot comes into the frame and kicks the gun away, then connects with cop lady's face for good measure.
 * Eek! A Mouse!: Cordelia doesn't "do" worms.
 * Emotions vs. Stoicism
 * Establishing Character Moment: Oz explaining his decision not to become a Corporate Computer Suit Guy... or a work-of-any-kind guy.

Oz: Oh, yeah! Yeah. E-flat, diminished ninth.

Willow: Huh?

Oz: Well, the E-flat, it's, it's doable, but that diminished ninth, y'know, it's a man's chord. You could lose a finger."

"Buffy: Hello and welcome to the Planet Pocket Protector."
 * Eureka Moment
 * Evil Redhead
 * Fetish Fuel: Shirtless!Angel tied up and tortured by Drusilla.
 * Fire-Forged Friends
 * Foreshadowing: The tension and jealousy between Spike/Drusilla/Angel becomes significant later on in the season.
 * Geeky Turn On: Giles and Badass Bookworm Kendra.

"Giles: There are forty-three churches in Sunnydale? That seems a little excessive.
 * Geographic Flexibility

Willow: It's the extra evil vibe from the Hellmouth. Makes people pray harder."

"Kendra: I don't hug.
 * Golden Moment: Has the required Aesop, but...

Buffy: Right. No. Good. Hate hugs."

"Spike: I'd rather be fightin' you anyway.
 * Good Cop Bad Cop / Gut Feeling
 * Half-Dressed Cartoon Animal: Lampshaded by Oz with respect to animal crackers.
 * Hope Spot: Willy opening the cage, smiling in a possibly evil manner, and dragging Angel out by his feet. Hooray! Then he dumps him in a sewer.
 * Hot Amazon: After Buffy and Kendra beat him up, Willie asks if they'd like to do some nude modelling.
 * Human Shield: Jonathan's the Butt Monkey, yet again -- he's briefly held at knifepoint by Patrice.
 * Hypocritical Humor: Willy promising the girls that Angel's A-OK. "I swear on my mother's grave! .. Should something fatal happen to her, God forbid ."
 * "Here you go. Don't ever say your friend Willy don't come through in a pinch."
 * Xander and Cordelia agreeing to put the kiss behind them... which intensifies into another argument, and they end up swapping spit again.
 * Reliably Unreliable Guns: Kendra talks about how she's an expert with all weapons, then has an accidental crossbow discharge.
 * I Owe You My Life
 * I Want Him Alive
 * I'll Kill You!: Kendra noting that there are no ashes in the cage, which means she didn't kill Angel. Buffy clarifies, "...And I don't need to kill you."
 * I'm Going to Disney World
 * Impaled Palm
 * Impersonating an Officer
 * Improbable Aiming Skills
 * Improvised Weapon: Cordelia beating back worms with a broom.
 * Glue is used to defeat worm guy.
 * Ironic Echo: Kendra's dry question to Buffy, "Did anyone explain to you what 'secret identity' means?", recalls Buffy's own exasperated observation to that same effect in the series premiere, "Welcome to the Hellmouth".
 * Ironic Nursery Tune: Drusilla's "Run and catch"
 * I Shall Taunt You: Angel implies he's Too Kinky to Torture, and that Drusilla is a lot more satisfied with him. Spike nearly stakes him on the spot before he realises what Angel is trying to do.
 * It's Personal / Violently Protective Girlfriend / Rage Breaking Point: Buffy switches with Kendra so she can fight Spike.

Buffy: Mutual."

"Kendra: That's ma best shirt! That's ma only shirt!"
 * Just a Flesh Wound
 * Karma Houdini: Willie
 * Let Us Never Speak of This Again
 * Limited Wardrobe: Kendra

"Kendra: She died?
 * Let Us Never Speak of This Again
 * Locked in A Room: Xander and Cordelia are trapped in Buffy's basement with Worm Guy lurking upstairs. They start arguing about whether or not to break out, which degrades into Volleying Insults which ends in a Big Damn Kiss. They then break apart, stare at each other in horror, and agree to break out immediately.
 * Logical Weakness
 * Long Story Short
 * Major Injury Undereaction:

Buffy: (defensively) Just a little."

"Willow: (stands up in her defense) Buffy would never do that! --Oh. Except for that sometimes... you do that. (sits)"
 * Oz is kind of excited to be shot. "It's odd! And painful."
 * Must Let Them Get Away: Patric, having exhausted all of her guns, grabs Jonathan and holds a knife to his throat. She backs up toward the exit, then throws Jonathan aside and bolts.
 * Neck Lift
 * Needle in A Stack of Needles: In this episode, we learn that there are 43 churches in Sunnydale.
 * Nice Job Breaking It, Hero
 * Nice Job Fixing It, Villain
 * No Except Yes: Kendra deadpans that she had good reason to think Buffy was a creature of the night, as she saw her kissing one.

"Cordelia: I can't believe that I'm stuck spending what will probably be my last few moments on Earth here with you!
 * No One Could Have Survived That
 * Noodle Implements
 * Not Quite Dead: Spike is buried under a church organ, and is retrieved by a now-restored Drusilla.
 * Nothing Up My Sleeve / Dual-Wielding
 * Offscreen Teleportation: Xander and Cordy running away from Norman as he blows apart into a mess or larvae. The kids rush into another room, but find a reconstituted Norman in it.
 * Piano Drop
 * Pieta Plagiarism: Drusilla carrying an injured Spike.
 * Pistol Whipping
 * Pre-Ass-Kicking One-Liner / Finishing Each Other's Sentences
 * Pre-Mortem One-Liner
 * Punched Across the Room
 * Put On a Bus
 * Race Against the Clock
 * Rage Judo
 * Read the Freaking Manual: Kendra referring to the Slayer Handbook. Buffy, chagrined, asks why she never got a handbook, to which Giles drolly replies, "After meeting you, Buffy, I realized that the handbook would be of no use in your case."
 * Relationship Upgrade: Cordelia/Xander and Oz/Willow.
 * The Reveal
 * Run or Die
 * Screaming Warrior
 * Screw This, I'm Outta Here
 * Sealed With a Kiss: Embarrassed over their earlier smooch, Xander and Cordelia agree That Didn't Happen, but then start arguing over whose fault it was, which only gets them worked up for yet another kiss.
 * Seinfeldian Conversation
 * Shaped Like Itself: Giles asking Xander what his assassin looked like. Cordy pulls out a larva from somewhere in her dress, and runs off in a panic to shower. Xander: "Like that."
 * She Fu
 * Shout Out: "If Dru dies, your little Rebecca of Sunnyhell Farm and all her mates are spared her coming out party." This is a play on Rebecca of Sunnybrook Farm, the 1903 book by Kate Douglas Smith Wiggin.
 * Sixth Ranger
 * Shirtless Scene: Angel being tortured with holy water.
 * Slap Slap Kiss (of the Volleying Insults kind)

Xander: I hope these are my last few moments! Three more seconds with you, and I'm gonna... (steps closer)

Cordelia: (steps closer) I'm gonna what? Coward!

Xander: Moron!

Cordelia: I hate you!

Xander: I hate you!"


 * They look at each other for another second before grabbing each other and engaging in a mad, passionate kiss. It goes on for several seconds before they suddenly release each other and look at each other in horror.

"Xander: We so need to get outta here.

Cordelia: (nods) Mm-hm!"

"Buffy: I don't take orders. I do things my way.
 * Snark to Snark Combat: Happens naturally when you've got two Slayers in the same room.

Kendra: No wonder you died."

"Willow: Don't warn the tadpoles!"
 * Straw Vulcan: Kendra
 * Sword Over Head
 * Rescue Romance: Oz for Willow.
 * Taking the Bullet: Trying to track Buffy's moves, Patrice fires several shots, one of which hits a diving Oz in the arm. /
 * Talking in Your Sleep

"Kendra: You died?
 * Talking the Monster To Death: Cordelia badgering Norman about whether he has anything in raisin, as she's "both a winter and a summer."
 * Teach Him Anger
 * Teeth Clenched Teamwork
 * The End or Is It
 * Throw It In: Sarah Michelle Gellar improvised the line "I tink we might make him", where she mocks Kendra's accent.
 * Most of the "Monkey Pants" conversation was ad-libbed. Seth Green mentioned in an Ultimate TV talk that the line "I mock you with my monkey pants" was initially dreamed by Alyson Hannigan.
 * Touch of the Monster: Drusilla carrying Spike out of the church.
 * Trust Password: Kendra's watcher, Sam Zubuto, is very well respected, leading Giles to conclude that Kendra seems to be legitimate.
 * Two Part Episode
 * Unexplained Recovery:

Buffy: Just a little."

"Buffy: ...I've had it. Spike is going down. You can attack me, you can send assassins after me; that's fine. But nobody messes with my boyfriend!"
 * Villain Ball: Willie and Co. capture the Slayer and bring her to where Spike is holding Angel captive instead of killing her immediately. Spike tries to rectify this problem, but it's too late.
 * Villainous Rescue
 * Violently Protective Girlfriend

"Cordelia: How will she even know where to find us?!
 * Volleying Insults
 * Waxing Lyrical
 * We Wait: Xander's content to wait in the basement until Buffy comes to rescue them.

Xander: Cordelia...this is Buffy's house. Odds are she'll find us."

"Buffy: Hello, and welcome to planet pocket protector."
 * Weird Moon
 * Wet Sari Scene: Xander spraying the maggots off Cordelia with a garden hose.
 * Wham Episode: Drusilla is now back to full health.
 * What Could Have Been: According to interviews with both Joss Whedon and James Marsters, this episode was supposed to be the final one with Spike in it, as he was scripted to die when Kendra and Buffy saved Angel. But Joss and company became so attached to Spike that this ending was later changed.
 * Why Are You Not My Son: Kendra impressing Giles with her knowledge of Draemius's writings. They share a tee-hee about how dry the book is.

"Buffy: I guess I can't fight it. I'm a freak.
 * You Are Not Alone

Kendra: But not the only freak.

Buffy: Not anymore."

"Xander: Not just any girl. You're special."
 * You Can Keep Her: Cordy announces she prefers to take her chances with bug guy, and opines that Xander probably would just let a girl go off to her doom alone.


 * You Have Failed Me
 * You Killed My Entire Family: Dru tortures Angel for Auld Lang Syne.
 * You Look Familiar
 * You Would Make a Great Model: Willy calls after the Slayers that they should consider high-class nude modeling. "I have a friend with a camera."