[/caption]Halloween is the one night people can change their identity completely. As Buffy says, it is the "come-as-you-aren't" holiday. My beloved Buffy, The Vampire Slayer's first Halloween episode focuses on that identity aspect of Halloween. Buffy feels insecure about herself, wonders what kind of girls Angel liked as a human teenager, finds out and then dresses as a 18th century noblewoman; meanwhile, Xander is humiliated after Buffy saves him from a punch in the mouth. His masculinity suffered a blow, so he dresses as an Army officer on Halloween. Willow DOES dress in a sexy outfit but prefers to cover herself with the ghost costume. Willow feels uncomfortable and insecure but she's just waiting to break free from her shell. Instead of simply dressing the part, the characters BECOME the part thanks to a spell cast by the villainous Ethan Rayne. The characters become their costumes, in case I wasn't clear.
I've merely outlined the broad beats of the story, and now I will dive into the full episode. Let us begin with our heroine and protagonist, Buffy Anne Summers.
Her insecurities begin when she arrives late for a date with Angel (thanks to slayer duty), and she finds Cordelia, at her most flirtatious, talking to Angel. Buffy is worked from the pumpkin patch fight with the vamp and wants to put a bag over her head. Angel tries to help Buffy feel better but she doesn't. She just wants to be a normal girl--not a girl who thinks about ambush tactics and beheadings instead of nail polish and facials. Despite Angel's best effort, she goes home.
At school the next day, Snyder forces Buffy, Xander and Willow to be volunteers and chaperon young children as they trick-or-treat. Buffy hoped to stay in and veg, since Halloween is the one night of the year the vamps and demons take a break. The forced volunteerism leads to costume buying because costumes are mandatory. Buffy finds the perfect 18th century dress at the costume store, and decides to be the kind of girl Angel liked in 1775. Buffy, of course, only assumes that Angel liked the noblewomen after looking through the Watcher Diaries.
The night begins relatively well until Rayne performs the costume magic, resulting in absolute chaos. Children become demons and vampiries. Buffy becomes less hero and more helpless 18th century girl. She cries and whimpers. The Buffy story is more overt than usual, in a Buffy episode. She even tells Xander that noblewomen are only expected to be pretty and desirable for men in hopes that they'll be married. Willow, earlier in the episode and pre-chaos, reminds Buffy that the right to vote for women is much better than 18th century society. Buffy is the model for the 20th century/modern woman--a strong, independent and absolutely awesome female. The costume chaos helps Buffy reaffirm her sense of Buffy-ness after feeling lousy about herself for half of the episode. Also, it is no surprise when Angel tells Buffy that he hated the noblewomen and found them dull.
Meanwhile, Willow emerges from her shell during the episode. Willow was a wallflower during the first season and the first five episodes of season two. With the encouragement from Buffy, she dresses in a sexy outfit. She temporarily wears a ghost costume until the costume magic happens (transforming her into an actual ghost for a period of time). She walks around in her outfit and becomes the leader when she realizes Buffy and Xander have a sort-of amnesia. Willow keeps her friends safe and together. She also helps Giles discover the person behind the chaos. When the costume chaos ends, she trashes the ghost costume and walks home in her outfit, comfortable in herself. She also catches the eye of Oz.
Other thoughts and notes:
-Xander becomes an army officer and gains closure when he beats up Larry in an alley. Larry is the guy who was going to deliver the punch before Buffy saved the day. Xander's masculinity is saved.
-The darker side of Giles is introduced through Ethan. Ethan calls Giles "ripper." Giles sort of tortures Ethan until he reveals to Giles the way to end the spell. More Ripper backstory occurs in "The Dark Age."
-Carl Ellsworth is the credited writer; however, the episode received a page one rewrite. Ellsworth wrote a first draft, turned it in. After that, he was fired. Some debate remains about who re-wrote it. Many thought Joss Whedon. After brief research, the answer is actually Marti Noxon. Whedonesqe.com is great for this kind of information. Ellsworth has a successful career as a horror screenwriter now. He also worked on Boy Meets World.
-"Halloween" is a fun episode. I watch it yearly and I never stop enjoying it; however, the episode is not my favorite Halloween episode. My favorite Buffy Halloween episode will receive the spotlight very, very soon.
-Bruce Seth Green directed the episode.
SCREENPLAY OF THE DAY
Buffy, The Vampire Slayer--"Halloween"--Written By Carl Ellsworth--http://buffyworld.com/buffy/scripts/018_scri.html
THE YOUTUBE CLIP OF THE WEEK
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