"The I In Team" (4x13) quick link here "This Year's Girl" (4x15) quick link here
Three quick notes before we get started...
1) This review will almost definitely contain spoilers for episodes after this one.
1) This review will almost definitely contain spoilers for episodes after this one.
2) If you enjoy my reviews, please subscribe to the blog! Over on the right-hand side there's a little box that says "Follow Shangel's Reviews by Email!". If you put your Email address in there and click "Submit", then confirm your subscription, you will get each review sent straight to your inbox! I can promise you that I won't send you junk mail or any of that rubbish! It will literally just be my reviews as they're uploaded here. You'll never miss a single one! Also, please bookmark the blog and check back every couple of days! I update every 1-3 days without fail!
3) If you're going to be using Amazon (UK/USA) or eBay (pretty much anywhere) soon, please do so through my blog. It'll take you just a couple of extra mouse clicks, but they will pay me a small percentage of the money you spend, helping me find more time to write these reviews. Most importantly, it costs you nothing at all extra. Details of how to do this are located here (it'll take less than a minute to read!). Thank you very, very much!
With that being said, let’s get started, shall we?
“The I In Team” and “Goodbye Iowa” act as a two-part story. At the end of the last episode, Adam had finally woken up and like most people when they first wake up, he was cranky. In his grumpy morning rage he skewered Maggie Walsh (shame...), making her a human shish kebab. Buffy had also just finished telling the rest of the Scooby Gang that Maggie Walsh tried to have her killed and that none of them were safe from The Initiative. Everybody feeling caught up?
As far as the quality of writing and the overall presentation of the episode is concerned, “Goodbye Iowa” is much like its predecessor, “The I In Team”. The only major difference is that instead of primarily focusing on Buffy, this episode primarily focuses on Riley. If you’re not a Riley fan (and it seems that most people aren’t), then you almost certainly won’t enjoy this episode as much as the last one because Riley gets a great deal of scene time here. Aside from Riley’s drug withdrawals and generally questioning his life now that Maggie is gone and his world has been turned upside down, “Goodbye Iowa” does have two more stories that run throughout it. There is the introduction of Adam, which emphasises his quizzical nature, as well as the Scoobies laying low in Xander’s charming basement. As I have done with some previous reviews, I will look at these three stories individually.
Riley
The episode opens exactly where the last one left off, with Buffy talking to the rest of the Scoobies about Maggie trying to kill her. They deduce that Maggie wanted Buffy out of the way because Buffy was asking too many questions. It makes sense...in a blood-thirsty, psychopathic kind of way. I also think that part of the reason Maggie wanted Buffy out of the way is because Maggie was jealous of Buffy an Riley’s relationship. Maggie wanted Riley to herself. Riley was her protégé of sorts and losing him and a lot of his attention to Buffy was a big deal to her. You only have to watch “The I In Team”, where Maggie watches Buffy and Riley having sex, to know that Maggie has a weird fixation with Riley. As Adam points out later in the episode, Maggie had an ultimate plan for Adam and Riley. Riley dating Buffy wasn’t a part of that plan, so Buffy had to be slain. As I mentioned in my review of “The I In Team”, Maggie’s death and replacement with Adam as the season’s ‘Big Bad’ was the worst decision of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” season four. Maggie had a personal connection to Riley and to Buffy. Adam is an unknown force that knows none of the Scoobies and that the audience doesn’t care about as they haven’t invested time into him.
Riley enters Giles’ house and notices that ‘Hostile 17’ is there. It took him bloody long enough! He didn’t recognise him in “Doomed”. Glossing over Spike’s terrible attempt at an American accent when he’s trying to pretend he’s not ‘Hostile 17’, Riley asks Buffy why Spike is there. Talk about an awkward question to answer....“Well, honey, he’s a vicious killing machine that has murdered two Slayers previously. He has a weird stalker-like fixation with me, he dislikes the rest of the Scoobies, and he does nothing but be sarcastic to us since he can’t hurt anyone physically thanks to you. We don’t really like him, he doesn’t really like us, but we do enjoy making fun of him every now and then. Other than that, he’s only really hanging around with us so he can be a part of the show...is that okay with you?”
Buffy then explains to Riley that Maggie tried to have her killed and Riley immediately starts to breakdown. Let’s not forget, even though we know Maggie is a psychotic weirdo that watches Riley have sex, has been drugging him, and is generally creepy, Riley doesn’t know that. He begins to tailspin. Who can blame him?! Him mother-figure just tried to murder his girlfriend. That makes for an uncomfortable family Christmas dinner at best.
Spike: “By the by, if you’re trying to kill her... *thumbs up*”
...I had to get that quote in here somewhere.
As if Riley hasn’t had enough to deal with in this episode, with Maggie trying to kill Buffy and all these questions being raised about The Initiative’s true motives, now his surrogate mother, Maggie, is dead. No wonder he goes off the rails for the remainder of “Goodbye Iowa”. The episode title “Goodbye Iowa” signifies to me the end of Riley’s innocence. Corn-fed, well-raised Riley loses everything that he holds dear in this episode, much like Buffy did in season two’s “Innocence”. He loses Maggie, in a lot of ways he loses Forrest, his best friend, he loses The Initiative, he discovers that Maggie had been drugging him, and he loses his a large amount of his physical skills due to no longer taking the drugs. His world is falling apart around him. Another interesting point to raise about this episode is that Buffy was unwilling to enter into a relationship with Riley in “Doomed” because Riley wasn’t a regular, normal guy. Now, due to no longer being on the drugs, Riley is becoming a regular guy. Sure, he’s still tall, athletic, and hunts demons, but other than that he’s completely ‘regular’ and ‘normal’.
After discovering Maggie’s body, Forrest raises doubts in Riley’s mind over Buffy. For a while now, Forrest has been growing increasingly more jealous of Buffy. While Maggie’s jealousy stems from Buffy’s relationship with Riley, Forrest’s jealousy seems to stem from a more sexist place. He dislikes Buffy, a girl, being stronger, smarter, and more skilled than him. He’s jealous that Buffy kills more vampires and demons in a week than he has in his entire life. In a lot of ways, it’s a prelude to what is to come for Riley in season five. Like Forrest, Riley can never fully learn to live with the fact that his girlfriend is stronger than him physically and mentally. Sure, he also feels that Buffy isn’t in love with him (which I agree with), but even before coming to that realisation he was insecure about Buffy’s strength.
I’ve read a lot on the internet about Riley’s “happy now” comment to Buffy and about how childish it is. Sure it’s childish! Sure it’s uncalled for! But look at the past few days of Riley’s life! I can’t stress this point enough: EVERYTHING IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE, EVERYTHING HE’S EVER BELIEVED IN IS FALLING APART AROUND HIM. Plus, let’s not forget, he’s going through drug withdrawal and he doesn’t know it. His body is as messed up as his head is right now. It’s enough to make anyone lash out and act a little irrationally. All of this leads us to “Willy’s Place”. It was really nice to see Willy again...do they have to name a character that! EVERYTHING SOUNDS DIRTY! Anyway, the point is, I smiled when I saw Willy...I mean, having Willy back in front of me was nice...let’s move on. This is Willy’s last appearance in the Buffyverse. The bar is used again a couple of times, but there’s no Willy in it. I’m gonna miss Willy. It’s in “Willy’s Place” that Riley’s drug withdrawal hits its peak and Riley goes into total meltdown. He’s losing his mind. He pulls a gun on an old lady and threatens to shoot her because he doesn’t trust anything anymore. Maggie lied to him, The Initiative has been drugging him, and he doesn’t understand life anymore. If he kills this woman, will a corpse be left behind or will he have a pissed off vampire or demon to deal with? Why is a friendly-looking old lady hanging out in a demon bar, anyway? Maybe Riley’s right! Maybe she is a vampire or demon! Up until this point, Riley has always had absolute trust in Maggie and The Initiative. Buffy mentioned to Riley in “The I In Team” that Riley isn’t one for asking questions. He just gets the job done and he feels like he’s making a difference to the world and doing good. Now, he discovers that perhaps The Initiative has a darker purpose. Perhaps Maggie was using him. Much like the first few seasons of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, Riley’s life has always been white and black. Vampires and demons are bad, The Initiative is good, Maggie is good, do your job. Now everything is grey. There is a question mark hovering over Riley’s entire life since leaving Iowa. It’s all been a lie. Characters have turned evil for less than this before in the Buffyverse.
I’ve also got to mention how fantastic Marc Blucas’ acting was throughout this episode. He’s usually a solid actor, but this was his biggest, most complicated role thus far and he delivered. “Goodbye Iowa” is Marc’s best acting thus far on the show by some margin. I’ve always found it interesting that a lot of people dislike Riley, but I’ve never heard anyone say that it was because of Marc’s acting.
Buffy: “We just need to find out what was in 314!”
Adam: “*drops a dead body to the floor*...me...”
Okay, I’ve mentioned that Adam is my least favourite ‘Big Bad’, but that entrance into his first meeting with Buffy was epic. The musical score, the way he casually says “me”, and his general laidback attitude worked excellently here. If only Adam’s ultimate plan and the rest of his story arc played out as well as this scene...George Hertzberg does a terrific job of bringing Adam - a pretty boring and lame character in a lot of ways - to life.
Adam openly talks about the similarities between himself and Riley. While Adam is a Frankenstein’s Monster combination of human, demon, and machine, whereas Riley is human, they do have a lot in common! Both of them were designed by Maggie. Both of them were shaped to her liking. She fed Riley chemicals to make him more like the man she wanted him to be...just like Adam. Both of them are creatures designed by Maggie Walsh and both of them have an important role to play in her end-game plan. It’s all working out like she imagined...only Adam skewered her so she isn’t alive to witness it herself, but that’s a minor, minor detail in an otherwise flawless plan. The episode comes to a close on a very depressing note. Riley is in a military hospital at The Initiative after being skewered by Adam. With his world crumbling at his feet, he grasps Buffy’s scarf. The one piece of Buffy he has with him and the one last thing in his life he has left to hold on to.
Adam
I’ve mentioned a few times how underwhelming I find Adam, but he’s at his most interesting in this episode. After murdering Maggie and escaping The Initiative, Adam stumbles upon a small boy playing with his toys in the woods. Adam kills the boy and dissects his body in order to study it. That was shocking and brutal! It’s so rare for a show to kill off a child, especially in such a grotesque fashion! I know that the actual killing and dismembering happens off-screen, but it’s still revealed to have happened in that way. This is Marti Noxon’s way of attempting to convince the audience to hate Adam. She’s giving us a reason to want to see Adam killed by Buffy. It works to a certain extent, but it’s simply not enough. There’s no personal connection to the child. There’s no personal connection between Adam and the Scoobies. We have no reason to invest in Adam in a positive or negative way. The only person that Adam has killed thus far that the audience are familiar with is Maggie Walsh, who is a villain! Adam could have been redeemed by killing or seriously wounding a Scooby, but even that doesn’t happen in this season! The closest we come to Adam actually being a threat is when he skewers Riley at the end of this episode, but most of the audience don’t like Riley anyway! He should have skewered Giles or Willow! Then the audience would have wanted to see him murdered!
The Scoobies
The Scoobies having to hide out in Xander’s basement gives me unlimited joy. Having all the Scoobies together in one place has been such a rarity this season! They’re all chilling in Xander’s basement watching Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner! Amongst all the chaos of an Initiative hunt, they’re relaxing and watching cartoons! Love it! Buffy’s complaints about the lack of gravity in Roadrunner is also hilarious because I’ve always complained about that too. HOW CAN A BOULDER YOU’VE JUST DROPPED OFF A CLIFF END UP LANDING ON YOUR OWN HEAD?! HOW CAN YOU FALL HUNDREDS OF FEET AND NOT DIE?
Without a doubt, the highlight of this episode other than Riley’s descent into catatonia is Buffy’s ‘yummy sushi pyjamas’ speech. It has iconic status by this point. I can’t tell you how many times people have messaged me on BTVSFC (www.facebook.com/BTVSFC) asking where they can find a pair of replica pyjamas....
Buffy: “I’ll make him die in ways he can’t even imagine...that probably would have sounded more commanding if I wasn’t wearing my ‘yummy sushi’ pyjamas.”
--------------------------------
Buffy: “I’m the only one that can pass the retinal scan.”
Xander: “Eww, I don’t wanna see that!”
Buffy: “Retinal scan, Xander.”
I always burst out laughing at that bit. Xander is so dense sometimes. You’ve gotta love him. Also, oh please! Three years earlier, Xander still thought Buffy was hot when she was a vampire. Later in this episode, he tries to kiss Buffy as ‘cover’ once they’re in The Initiative. He would have totally liked to see Buffy receive a rectal scan.
Forrest smashed Spike’s TV. FORREST SMASHED SPIKES’S TV! At least Spike gets revenge on Forrest later this season, when he puts a cigarette out on Forrest’s face. I really wanted him to yell “that’s for my TV, you wanker! YOU MADE ME MISS ‘PASSIONS’! TIMMY WAS STILL DOWN THE BLOODY WELL!”, but, alas, it was not meant to be. This episode is also noteworthy for Spike because it’s the first one where Spike is beaten up by demons because he’s been fighting his own kind. This, I think, plays a part in why Spike ends up becoming ‘good’ down the line. He can no longer be the animal he once was and now he’s been shunned by other vampires and demons as well. Like Angel, Spike now walks in two worlds but belongs to neither. He needs to find a place in the world where he belongs and eventually that place becomes the Scoobies. He’s never truly a member of them, but he does find a place working alongside them, even after Buffy’s temporary death.
Finally, Willow and Tara do a spell to locate all the demons in Sunnydale (as they’re looking for Adam). Tara pretends to do the spell, but secretly doesn’t complete it. Why is this? It takes almost an entire season to find out, but it’s because Tara thinks that she’s part demon. Her family have lied to her for her entire life and have convinced her that she has demon inside her that will present itself on her 20th birthday.
After all the drama and Initiative-ness of the last two episodes, I feel like the next one should give us a break from the main story arc of the season. Have a little...Faith, gentle readers. It’s coming.
Quote Of The Episode
Giles: “Absolutely not. I will not squat in that dank hole.”
Spike: “What, it was good enough for me, but you’re above it all?”
Giles: “Precisely.”
The ‘yummy sushi pyjamas’ speech is more epic, but this made me laugh out loud far more than it should have.
FINAL SCORE: 7/10
What are your thoughts on "Goodbye Iowa"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!
With that being said, let’s get started, shall we?
“The I In Team” and “Goodbye Iowa” act as a two-part story. At the end of the last episode, Adam had finally woken up and like most people when they first wake up, he was cranky. In his grumpy morning rage he skewered Maggie Walsh (shame...), making her a human shish kebab. Buffy had also just finished telling the rest of the Scooby Gang that Maggie Walsh tried to have her killed and that none of them were safe from The Initiative. Everybody feeling caught up?
As far as the quality of writing and the overall presentation of the episode is concerned, “Goodbye Iowa” is much like its predecessor, “The I In Team”. The only major difference is that instead of primarily focusing on Buffy, this episode primarily focuses on Riley. If you’re not a Riley fan (and it seems that most people aren’t), then you almost certainly won’t enjoy this episode as much as the last one because Riley gets a great deal of scene time here. Aside from Riley’s drug withdrawals and generally questioning his life now that Maggie is gone and his world has been turned upside down, “Goodbye Iowa” does have two more stories that run throughout it. There is the introduction of Adam, which emphasises his quizzical nature, as well as the Scoobies laying low in Xander’s charming basement. As I have done with some previous reviews, I will look at these three stories individually.
Riley
The episode opens exactly where the last one left off, with Buffy talking to the rest of the Scoobies about Maggie trying to kill her. They deduce that Maggie wanted Buffy out of the way because Buffy was asking too many questions. It makes sense...in a blood-thirsty, psychopathic kind of way. I also think that part of the reason Maggie wanted Buffy out of the way is because Maggie was jealous of Buffy an Riley’s relationship. Maggie wanted Riley to herself. Riley was her protégé of sorts and losing him and a lot of his attention to Buffy was a big deal to her. You only have to watch “The I In Team”, where Maggie watches Buffy and Riley having sex, to know that Maggie has a weird fixation with Riley. As Adam points out later in the episode, Maggie had an ultimate plan for Adam and Riley. Riley dating Buffy wasn’t a part of that plan, so Buffy had to be slain. As I mentioned in my review of “The I In Team”, Maggie’s death and replacement with Adam as the season’s ‘Big Bad’ was the worst decision of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” season four. Maggie had a personal connection to Riley and to Buffy. Adam is an unknown force that knows none of the Scoobies and that the audience doesn’t care about as they haven’t invested time into him.
Riley enters Giles’ house and notices that ‘Hostile 17’ is there. It took him bloody long enough! He didn’t recognise him in “Doomed”. Glossing over Spike’s terrible attempt at an American accent when he’s trying to pretend he’s not ‘Hostile 17’, Riley asks Buffy why Spike is there. Talk about an awkward question to answer....“Well, honey, he’s a vicious killing machine that has murdered two Slayers previously. He has a weird stalker-like fixation with me, he dislikes the rest of the Scoobies, and he does nothing but be sarcastic to us since he can’t hurt anyone physically thanks to you. We don’t really like him, he doesn’t really like us, but we do enjoy making fun of him every now and then. Other than that, he’s only really hanging around with us so he can be a part of the show...is that okay with you?”
Buffy then explains to Riley that Maggie tried to have her killed and Riley immediately starts to breakdown. Let’s not forget, even though we know Maggie is a psychotic weirdo that watches Riley have sex, has been drugging him, and is generally creepy, Riley doesn’t know that. He begins to tailspin. Who can blame him?! Him mother-figure just tried to murder his girlfriend. That makes for an uncomfortable family Christmas dinner at best.
Spike: “By the by, if you’re trying to kill her... *thumbs up*”
...I had to get that quote in here somewhere.
As if Riley hasn’t had enough to deal with in this episode, with Maggie trying to kill Buffy and all these questions being raised about The Initiative’s true motives, now his surrogate mother, Maggie, is dead. No wonder he goes off the rails for the remainder of “Goodbye Iowa”. The episode title “Goodbye Iowa” signifies to me the end of Riley’s innocence. Corn-fed, well-raised Riley loses everything that he holds dear in this episode, much like Buffy did in season two’s “Innocence”. He loses Maggie, in a lot of ways he loses Forrest, his best friend, he loses The Initiative, he discovers that Maggie had been drugging him, and he loses his a large amount of his physical skills due to no longer taking the drugs. His world is falling apart around him. Another interesting point to raise about this episode is that Buffy was unwilling to enter into a relationship with Riley in “Doomed” because Riley wasn’t a regular, normal guy. Now, due to no longer being on the drugs, Riley is becoming a regular guy. Sure, he’s still tall, athletic, and hunts demons, but other than that he’s completely ‘regular’ and ‘normal’.
After discovering Maggie’s body, Forrest raises doubts in Riley’s mind over Buffy. For a while now, Forrest has been growing increasingly more jealous of Buffy. While Maggie’s jealousy stems from Buffy’s relationship with Riley, Forrest’s jealousy seems to stem from a more sexist place. He dislikes Buffy, a girl, being stronger, smarter, and more skilled than him. He’s jealous that Buffy kills more vampires and demons in a week than he has in his entire life. In a lot of ways, it’s a prelude to what is to come for Riley in season five. Like Forrest, Riley can never fully learn to live with the fact that his girlfriend is stronger than him physically and mentally. Sure, he also feels that Buffy isn’t in love with him (which I agree with), but even before coming to that realisation he was insecure about Buffy’s strength.
I’ve read a lot on the internet about Riley’s “happy now” comment to Buffy and about how childish it is. Sure it’s childish! Sure it’s uncalled for! But look at the past few days of Riley’s life! I can’t stress this point enough: EVERYTHING IN HIS ENTIRE LIFE, EVERYTHING HE’S EVER BELIEVED IN IS FALLING APART AROUND HIM. Plus, let’s not forget, he’s going through drug withdrawal and he doesn’t know it. His body is as messed up as his head is right now. It’s enough to make anyone lash out and act a little irrationally. All of this leads us to “Willy’s Place”. It was really nice to see Willy again...do they have to name a character that! EVERYTHING SOUNDS DIRTY! Anyway, the point is, I smiled when I saw Willy...I mean, having Willy back in front of me was nice...let’s move on. This is Willy’s last appearance in the Buffyverse. The bar is used again a couple of times, but there’s no Willy in it. I’m gonna miss Willy. It’s in “Willy’s Place” that Riley’s drug withdrawal hits its peak and Riley goes into total meltdown. He’s losing his mind. He pulls a gun on an old lady and threatens to shoot her because he doesn’t trust anything anymore. Maggie lied to him, The Initiative has been drugging him, and he doesn’t understand life anymore. If he kills this woman, will a corpse be left behind or will he have a pissed off vampire or demon to deal with? Why is a friendly-looking old lady hanging out in a demon bar, anyway? Maybe Riley’s right! Maybe she is a vampire or demon! Up until this point, Riley has always had absolute trust in Maggie and The Initiative. Buffy mentioned to Riley in “The I In Team” that Riley isn’t one for asking questions. He just gets the job done and he feels like he’s making a difference to the world and doing good. Now, he discovers that perhaps The Initiative has a darker purpose. Perhaps Maggie was using him. Much like the first few seasons of “Buffy The Vampire Slayer”, Riley’s life has always been white and black. Vampires and demons are bad, The Initiative is good, Maggie is good, do your job. Now everything is grey. There is a question mark hovering over Riley’s entire life since leaving Iowa. It’s all been a lie. Characters have turned evil for less than this before in the Buffyverse.
I’ve also got to mention how fantastic Marc Blucas’ acting was throughout this episode. He’s usually a solid actor, but this was his biggest, most complicated role thus far and he delivered. “Goodbye Iowa” is Marc’s best acting thus far on the show by some margin. I’ve always found it interesting that a lot of people dislike Riley, but I’ve never heard anyone say that it was because of Marc’s acting.
Buffy: “We just need to find out what was in 314!”
Adam: “*drops a dead body to the floor*...me...”
Okay, I’ve mentioned that Adam is my least favourite ‘Big Bad’, but that entrance into his first meeting with Buffy was epic. The musical score, the way he casually says “me”, and his general laidback attitude worked excellently here. If only Adam’s ultimate plan and the rest of his story arc played out as well as this scene...George Hertzberg does a terrific job of bringing Adam - a pretty boring and lame character in a lot of ways - to life.
Adam
I’ve mentioned a few times how underwhelming I find Adam, but he’s at his most interesting in this episode. After murdering Maggie and escaping The Initiative, Adam stumbles upon a small boy playing with his toys in the woods. Adam kills the boy and dissects his body in order to study it. That was shocking and brutal! It’s so rare for a show to kill off a child, especially in such a grotesque fashion! I know that the actual killing and dismembering happens off-screen, but it’s still revealed to have happened in that way. This is Marti Noxon’s way of attempting to convince the audience to hate Adam. She’s giving us a reason to want to see Adam killed by Buffy. It works to a certain extent, but it’s simply not enough. There’s no personal connection to the child. There’s no personal connection between Adam and the Scoobies. We have no reason to invest in Adam in a positive or negative way. The only person that Adam has killed thus far that the audience are familiar with is Maggie Walsh, who is a villain! Adam could have been redeemed by killing or seriously wounding a Scooby, but even that doesn’t happen in this season! The closest we come to Adam actually being a threat is when he skewers Riley at the end of this episode, but most of the audience don’t like Riley anyway! He should have skewered Giles or Willow! Then the audience would have wanted to see him murdered!
The Scoobies
The Scoobies having to hide out in Xander’s basement gives me unlimited joy. Having all the Scoobies together in one place has been such a rarity this season! They’re all chilling in Xander’s basement watching Wile E. Coyote and Roadrunner! Amongst all the chaos of an Initiative hunt, they’re relaxing and watching cartoons! Love it! Buffy’s complaints about the lack of gravity in Roadrunner is also hilarious because I’ve always complained about that too. HOW CAN A BOULDER YOU’VE JUST DROPPED OFF A CLIFF END UP LANDING ON YOUR OWN HEAD?! HOW CAN YOU FALL HUNDREDS OF FEET AND NOT DIE?
Without a doubt, the highlight of this episode other than Riley’s descent into catatonia is Buffy’s ‘yummy sushi pyjamas’ speech. It has iconic status by this point. I can’t tell you how many times people have messaged me on BTVSFC (www.facebook.com/BTVSFC) asking where they can find a pair of replica pyjamas....
Buffy: “I’ll make him die in ways he can’t even imagine...that probably would have sounded more commanding if I wasn’t wearing my ‘yummy sushi’ pyjamas.”
--------------------------------
Buffy: “I’m the only one that can pass the retinal scan.”
Xander: “Eww, I don’t wanna see that!”
Buffy: “Retinal scan, Xander.”
I always burst out laughing at that bit. Xander is so dense sometimes. You’ve gotta love him. Also, oh please! Three years earlier, Xander still thought Buffy was hot when she was a vampire. Later in this episode, he tries to kiss Buffy as ‘cover’ once they’re in The Initiative. He would have totally liked to see Buffy receive a rectal scan.
Forrest smashed Spike’s TV. FORREST SMASHED SPIKES’S TV! At least Spike gets revenge on Forrest later this season, when he puts a cigarette out on Forrest’s face. I really wanted him to yell “that’s for my TV, you wanker! YOU MADE ME MISS ‘PASSIONS’! TIMMY WAS STILL DOWN THE BLOODY WELL!”, but, alas, it was not meant to be. This episode is also noteworthy for Spike because it’s the first one where Spike is beaten up by demons because he’s been fighting his own kind. This, I think, plays a part in why Spike ends up becoming ‘good’ down the line. He can no longer be the animal he once was and now he’s been shunned by other vampires and demons as well. Like Angel, Spike now walks in two worlds but belongs to neither. He needs to find a place in the world where he belongs and eventually that place becomes the Scoobies. He’s never truly a member of them, but he does find a place working alongside them, even after Buffy’s temporary death.
Finally, Willow and Tara do a spell to locate all the demons in Sunnydale (as they’re looking for Adam). Tara pretends to do the spell, but secretly doesn’t complete it. Why is this? It takes almost an entire season to find out, but it’s because Tara thinks that she’s part demon. Her family have lied to her for her entire life and have convinced her that she has demon inside her that will present itself on her 20th birthday.
After all the drama and Initiative-ness of the last two episodes, I feel like the next one should give us a break from the main story arc of the season. Have a little...Faith, gentle readers. It’s coming.
Quote Of The Episode
Giles: “Absolutely not. I will not squat in that dank hole.”
Spike: “What, it was good enough for me, but you’re above it all?”
Giles: “Precisely.”
The ‘yummy sushi pyjamas’ speech is more epic, but this made me laugh out loud far more than it should have.
FINAL SCORE: 7/10
What are your thoughts on "Goodbye Iowa"? Did you enjoy this episode? Dislike it? Let me know all your thoughts in the comments section below!
If you've enjoyed this review, please use the conveniently placed buttons just below to share it on Blogger, Google+, Twitter, Facebook, or email it to a friend! It is greatly appreciated!
It wasn't a "mistake" that Maggie was not made the season's Big Bad (in conjunction with Adam). The actress who played her, Lindsay Crouse, wanted out of the show earlier than expected, to take another acting gig. And thus, Adam became the default lone baddie.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I'm aware of that, mjkbk. I meant a mistake for the show, rather than it being Joss' fault or someone else's fault. It was relatively unavoidable in this case :).
Delete- Shangel
the yummy sushi pajamas are avaialble, but quite expensive *grin.
ReplyDeleteBuffy is stronger than Riley physically, but by "mentally" I hope you meant emotionally in tthat she's more hardened to this specific type of combat. Because his academic achievemnts and status as a Federal "agent" argue that he's intellectually strong.
Maybe the nice old lady has a demon boyfriend?
Willy, huh? I usually say John Henry, which is truly ridiculaous because John Henry in the song is famous for *working* whereas . . . err, TMI.
I agree Shangel Adam is the least interesting "Big Bad" he didn't appeal to me.
ReplyDeleteBuffy's "Yummy sushi pyjamas" speech is absolute gold, and is timeless :)