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Season 2, Ep 14 (Patreon)

Published:
2021-09-01 14:30:01
Edited:
2023-07-01 15:40:42
Imported:
2026-06
Tags:

Content

fun game: take a drink every time i say "bad" in this one. :)

(uhhh for legal reasons that is a joke please drink responsibly) 😌

Files

Buffy Season 2, Ep 14 - Innocence

Vidyard video

Comments

Melissa

What??? I wasn't expecting this gift so early! You are spoiling us. Or you just couldn't wait lol. Work be damned - off to watch! Oh, or you said you were flying today. Safe travels!

Bri

Oh my god I hate the scene where Angelus pretends to be Angel- excruciating. Darcie, to your point, sex positivity is great, but what this episode gets at is that the reality of teenage girls' sexual experience is quite often crappy, because of being treated horribly by men/boys. At what it's like to find out the person you love seems to change, apparently once they have what they want. I get what you mean, though. This can happen when you're writing for conflict, you're quite often relating the darker parts of human experience. Loved your reaction. I am so looking forward to the remainder of the season! 😍

Sisnerdly

And Heeere we GO!

Sisnerdly

David Boreanaz as Angel < Angelous 🧛‍♂️

Jessica Roth

My favorite episode, just so you know. (Joss Whedon, recording his DVD commentary during Season 5, called it the most important episode of the series.) I've literally been counting the weeks until this. *Tingles…and then clicks…*

Melissa

Well, that's pretty close to a perfect episode, for me anyway. There's so much to love about it, from the way Angelus (you can still call him Bad Angel if you want) exhales the smoke from his victim's cigarette to Aly's perfect both funny and heartbreaking reaction to Xander/Cordelia. The ending breaks me every time. I love that you love it. Most definitely interesting. And Bad Angel is so much funnier than Good Angel! So glad she kicked him where it hurts. Very satisfying. The whole sex is bad thing is kind of a theme (think back to Bad Eggs when Buffy missed the class on consequences from having sex). It works on two levels - Angel having lost his soul becoming evil, and him being cold and stand-offish which happens all too often. Anyway, good good good stuff!

Whisper_dvm

The curse trigger is a bit of a contentious point in the community. Some say it was the sex as that was the metaphor they were going for. Girl sleeps with her boyfriend and then he becomes a dick the next day. I think though, that it was the moment of contentment while lying in each other’s arms after the fact. Mostly because of the timing- Angel didn’t lose his soul right after sex. It was obvious some amount of time had passed afterward. You’ll see people argue either way so YMMV. Angelus is pronounced like Los Angeles without the Los. Great reaction of course! I kinda figured you’d almost like Angel better once he turned bad! 😆

Tim Pierce

This is the turning point. This is the moment this show goes from "oh that was cool, I enjoyed that" to "holy shit! what happens next?" Strap in and enjoy the ride. "Things are about to get very interesting" - Angelus

The Oracle Witch

Big Love for this two parter. I was about 9/10 years old watching this for first time. Its funny how certain shows shape us. Even as a kid I understood what happened and how heartbreaking it was for Buffy. But I saw her strength instead of sadness. I saw her get back up time and time again, as a kid- this was my role model and I say she made a damn fine one. Im not a fan of Angel s1 or 2 up til this ep, keep the want for personality but thats all I can say atm. Angelus is incredible. LOVE to hate him, babes! Lol ;p. David Boreneaz said 'yall wanna see range? Ok ill show you range' lol lol I just wanted to hug spike this episode, poor guy lmao. But i basically always wanna hug him. #spikefan

indaeo

Back when this aired, they used this two-parter EVENT as a way to move the show from Monday to Tuesday nights. It was very exciting for us at the time and the events of the episodes definitely didn't let us down. I was a lot like you, Darcie, in that I wondered if they would cure him by the end of "Innocence". When I saw that they didn't, my mind was spinning wondering where they would go with this. I'm sure yours is, too. Great reaction, as always!

L R

First off , I knew you would dig Evil Angel ie Angelus , he's a delicious villain . Secondly it wasn't the sex that turned Angel it was the peaceful moment afterwards which was the moment of true happiness . The two parters are great but don't think that all the significant stuff happens there as you'll be in for one hell of a shock .

Steven Winthrop

I love you instantly recognize Angelus' iconic leather pants. lmao! This is where things really take off! You're in for a wild ride.

Chas Summers

You're not wrong about the young female sex tropes, but from the jump this show has been about the "horrors of high school." It's not much different than sneaking off to a frat party and drinking and a giant demon snake tries to eat you.

Jessica Roth

I am going to talk SO much about this one. (And I'm usually so pithy, lmao!) Y'all been warned. At one point, on a discussion board, I decided to list my favorite thing from every episode. (Not necessarily "best" or "most important", just what I enjoyed.) I started at the end and worked backwards, because I think the earlier seasons are better. (I know others disagree.) But when I got to this one, I skipped it, went straight to "Surprise", saving this for the last. And then, as the climax, I celebrated something in every SCENE. Because I love this so much. But enough about me, let's talk about you. You really brought your A game. Buffy kicks Angel. (DARCIE: Fuck, do it again.) GILES: It's not over. (DARCIE: Yeah, thanks, Rupe.) JOYCE: Do I have to sing? (DARCIE: Please don't.) Great stuff. And that's not even counting the "desperate hope turns to mounting terror" parts, which is pretty much every reactor, let's face it. But I love it, every time. Because I'm evil, too. Rewatch (and possible live-blog) later today. Travel safely.

Allan

And here is the turning point of when the show goes from great to f*cking amazing!! Strap in - you're in for a ride!!!

Andrew Pulrang

Might as well chime in on the discussion of what this storyline might be saying about teens and sex. Hopefully we all know by now that Joss is at best a deeply flawed and dated version of male feminist. So in the late ‘90s / early 2000s it was somewhat progressive to take the typical horror trope of “teenage girl has sex and horrible things ensue,” and modify it by making it BRILLIANTLY clear that it’s the guy we hate, and by having Giles give that beautiful little speech supporting Buffy. But in retrospect, it’s still USING THAT TROPE. I feel like that’s what’s happening with a lot of TV and movie things that were seen as advanced in the ‘90s and feel less so now. Joss tends to MODIFY and REVERSE harmful tropes, but doesn’t really come up with NEW ONES. So good, but not great. None of which spoils these episodes or the series for me. But it’s a good discussion to have.

R J Walker (FumblesMcStupid)

Well, here we go!!!!!! Highlights, Darcie being ready to throw hands at the beginning to protect Buffy when she wakes up. 👍 The notifications....um....just the concept of Cal on her computer in class and the notification pops up *Angel has lost his soul* "Crap" says Ms Calendar, a little too loudly lol "He's the best" about Giles...why yes, yes he is 🥰 And yeah, I prefer Angelus to Angel if I'm being totally honest, he's funny and he wears leather pants lol You're right about the foreshadowing. And remember in 2x01 when Buffy wanted to fight Angel, she literally told him 'kick my ass'!!! I have to say maybe DON'T walk away at the end though. I dunno, maybe tie him up and work out what to do with him at your leisure...just sayin'. This one is so heartbreaking it's hard to know where to start. Interesting though that, while Xander and Cordelia are now out in the open and Oz and Willow seem to be starting up Buffy + Angel and Giles + Jenny have fallen apart 😭 I get your point about the weaponising sexuality/virginity and you're right IMO even IF (as I believe) he lost his soul because of the contented feeling AFTERWARDS. Fact is, BUFFY thinks it was the sex and thinks it was her and because she cut off Cal Buffy thinks Cal thinks it's her fault too. So, in the end, it FEELS like she's being punished for that IMO. One of the things that works against this toxicity is Giles' speech at the end though, categorically telling her it's not her fault and he doesn't blame her. I think the importance of 'my support...and my respect' can't be underestimated, particularly the respect part - the LAST thing Buffy was expecting. I mean, how awkward was that scene in Cal's classroom? Buffy literally attacking Cal in a classroom (Giles: er, you kids should leave, everything is fine!!!!!lol), Rupe finding out Cal has been lying to him (all of them but, let's face it, mostly him), Rupe finding out Buffy had sex, Buffy realising that Rupe has just found out she just had sex. I mean 😱Point is, I really don't think she was expecting Rupe to be so, well, wonderful :) And poor ol' Spike didn't get to have ANY fun lol

Bastion33

Love your Channel Darcie. Just a side note: Get in the habit of not reading the beginning credits during the show. It could spoil some appearances for future episodes.

Whisper_dvm

Posting the “Bad” tally for posterity: 22. Drinking game at your own risk

Svetlana Grabar

Reposting my original comment. Hopefully it got rid of the spoiler response to it. It's interesting to me how Angelus seems to fight better than Angel, I'm guessing because he doesn't have to hold back. His soul is also not burdening him the whole time. I love Angelus :D Also, If we assume that vampires have to eat at least once a day, then that means that since Buffy didn't kill him, he'll kill at least one other person each day. And that's not counting that he's more evil than an average vampire. But I also feel for her, she's not responsible for this at the end of the day and she's just a teenager. I always try to put myself in her shoes and honestly idk what I would choose, it would be so hard to kill the love of your life. It's very trolley problem. Her crying at the end... so hard to watch :( I'm glad that she got some comfort from both her mom and Giles, who I consider to be her father figure. As awful as everything is, she got support and comfort too and it's so good to see.

Jessica Roth

Okay, a confession: Jenny isn't the only one who's been keeping a secret. You see, I have been bending over backwards to be nice to Angel. And I do think that Angel's quest to redeem his previous crimes is a noble effort, and that he cares for Buffy and that he's been helpful to the group (not only fighting, but helping with the mystery in SAR and "Lie to Me"). And he's a good sounding board for Buffy. And his comedy potential is indisputable. (WHY didn't he wear the pointy hat??? *cries* ) But…my actual feelings for Angel are VERY different, on a visceral level. Going full rant would risk letting a spoiler out, so I'll control myself, but let's just say I'm not inclined to cut him much slack after this.

Jessica Roth

My feelings about Angel do not diminish my enjoyment of "Bad Angel" or my admiration for the work David does playing him. For most of this series IMO, David has been one of the weaker actors. Certainly my disgust at Angel's Incredibly Stupid Plan to Have Spike Bite Xander (in "School Hard") was not merely about the stupidity of the plan or the disrespect it shows Xander (and by extension, the group) or the utter LAMENESS of Angel pretending that being "evil" = "faking weakness and sneaking snacks behind Buffy's back". It was also because (IMO) David generated absolutely no true sense of menace there. Completely different from what we get now. Thankfully.

Jessica Roth

And before I discuss the episode proper, let's tip a hat to Joss Whedon. Not only does he completely flip the balance of power (turning Buffy's, er, closest ally into her deepest enemy), not only does she have to stop the immortal planet-killing demon, but Joss takes all SIX romantic pairs (the five operational ones and the unrealized Willow/Xander) and hammers them all, to varying degrees. From "best" to worst: • Willow/Oz: Oz expresses feelings, but also makes it clear why he's reluctant to go further. I mean, Willow could just get over Xander, but she's had her whole life to do that. • Xander/Cordelia: They're outed, which is probably going to be difficult for Cordelia (especially socially) and has damaged Xander's relationship with Willow, which even if it's not romantic, is something he relies on. • Willow/Xander: Willow gets her heart broken, in the worst way possible. It would be bad enough if Xander had just kept dating Ampata (if she wasn't a killer) or whatever, but for him to be sneaking around with the person Willow has so much unresolved history with? And for her to catch him at it, like that? Ugh. • Spike/Drusilla: Don't get me wrong, Angel has a certain affection for Spike (all sires do for their childer, I'd assume) but he's naturally dominant, and there's only room for one Big Daddy in vamp-land. And he's already mocked Spike as inadequate…and Drusilla didn't exactly rush to disagree. And Spike's in a wheelchair, and can't do a thing about it. Hard cheese, Matchhead. • Rupe and Jenny/Jana/Calzone/whomever: He finds out she's been lying to him since the day they met and now has to wonder if her feelings were a lie, too. She's kicked out of the group and rather firmly at that. Not to mention she was humiliated in front of all her students. (Including Dan, I noticed. Gee, first Buffy ruins his police seminar and now computer class. If she keeps this up, he'll be reduced to selling pencils on the street corner. Sheesh.) • Buffy/Angel: Obviously. Nice work for one episode, Whedon. You bastard.

Jessica Roth

(Oh, goodie! Patreon eats another post! Sigh…) No notifications for Cal because no smartphones until 2007. (I had a joke about the Elder Woman's email, but it wasn't so great. Thanks, Patreon! Grrr…) Cut line: JUDGE: I fought an army. They hacked me to pieces. For 600 years I lay buried, my living head in a box. I've learned to be patient. I've seen reactors be confused about whether Buffy actually killed the Judge; perhaps they should have kept this line, to restate the problem (the Judge's backstory was in last ep) for the new episode? How great is David here? He even does good acting WITH HIS BACK TURNED. A contemporary review said they knew Angel had lost his soul before he turned around…because he was standing straight up for once. 100 years of guilt almost literally off his shoulders. (Okay, part of that hunching was because David is so much taller than Sarah. But it works for the character, too.) Note that Angel is already in vampire face when he turns around and he's already vamped out when he attacks Willow at the school. And he fights Buffy in human face. Morphing shots cost $$$, you know. Joss still thinks like a producer ;) Speaking of faces, your reaction to Angel biting the woman was PERFECT. Have you considered screen-shotting it? Lol.

Jessica Roth

If Buffy wants to sneak up to her room, maybe she should take off those clunky heels, first? Those things make a serious racket. I grant you, by the end of this day, Buffy will be crying herself to sleep and Joyce will never notice (how late IS that gallery open?) but it just seems wiser. I've been saying that Whedon hasn't served the Xander/Willow side of the potential triangle (double triangle, technically, since it complicates things for both Willow/Oz and Xander/Cordelia) enough, but at least he corrects it in this episode. Even before the climactic "Willow finds out" bit, we see the two of them being in sync here, wanting to rush into action while Giles/Cordy/Cal demur. After all, what makes Xander a hero? Not that he's "fearless" per se (although some of his "cowardice" jokes are just that, since he REALLY didn't like being thought a coward in "Halloween") but that he's unswerving. If he thinks that something should be done, he'll do it, and "you might die" seems like a stupid argument to him. Xander's process is figure out what needs to be done (go rescue Buffy and Angel) and figure out the details later. And while Willow isn't so impulsive, she ultimately aligns with him. (I do love this bit: WILLOW: Buffy! XANDER: We were just going to rescue you. WILLOW: Well, SOME of us were. (Scornful look at Giles) GILES: Well, I-I would have. Yes, I think he would. Rupe tends to dither, but he can be persuaded. Aww.) Now let's talk blocking. I never noticed this before, but while this episode shows off Joss's favorite directing trick (the long take; the Cordy/Xander linoleum scene at the base is the only one where the whole scene is one shot, but there's a lot of moving the camera around so you need fewer cuts, like the scene at the start of Act 2), he also does something subtler. He makes Jenny look small. Robia LaMorte (the actress) is fairly tall and normally is bigger than Sarah and Alyson. (You can see this when she and Buffy enter the lounge together early in "Surprise" or when they talk before Jenny gives her the ride, for example.) But here Jenny is going to have her worst episode of the series (she's been endangered before, but she was okay at those episodes' end) and get pushed out of the group. So Joss "disappears" her throughout the shooting, both to set up the end and to make her conflict with Buffy (secrets) different from the PHYSICAL conflict with Big Tall David/Angel, who as we noted is even taller than before because Evil Angel has better posture. So in this scene, Cal is all the way at the back, and Robia is slouching against the book cage, so she's not taller than Aly. And when Willow steps forward to agree with Xander, Jenny is left in the background. And when she does join the larger group (once Buffy enters) she's behind Willow and Cordelia. And when she leaves, Joss shoots it a higher angle, to diminish her. You wondered why the Buffy/Willow scene in the hall was shot at that unusually-high angle? Well, to make Jenny look sinister (when she pops out as B/W go up the stairs)…but also to make Robia smaller. Since we tracked with Buffy and Willow for a little bit, the angle on Sneaky!Jenny is higher than the one we had on the girls, so she looks smaller than they did. Hey, Dru changed her outfit! Spike's all "are you feeling better?" because she collapsed before, but if she had the strength to change clothes, lol. (Of course, Cordelia would say pain is no excuse to slack on your look…) The "Broadway dream" story that Angel tells Spike is the plot of "42nd Street", a successful musical and movie from the 1930s. There was a big-splash revival in 1981, which made a star out of Jerry Orbach, before "Law and Order". SPIKE: Uh…yeah. Angel, look over YOUR shoulder. While IMO Spike wasn't very successful as the lead villain (what with all the running away), he works so great as the grumpy sub-villain here, taking the wind out of Mr. Big Plan I-Love-to-Hear-Myself-Talk Angel when ever he can. Drusilla is Angel's adoring audience, but Spike is there to gripe and mock and complain. Love it. JUDGE: This one [Angel] is clean. He can not be burned. Remember what I said about Joss being assiduous at clearing up plot points so the audience stayed "in the story"? Here we are again. The Judge's main purpose (other than to catalyze B/A into "seizing", which was "pretty inevitable" anyway, in Buffy's own words) is to be a Demonic Lie-Detector, basically. Anybody who was wondering if Angel was faking, if this was some clever plan to fool Spike and Dru can stop wondering. Angel has a "clean" bill of health. And oh yeah, Angel's face. "Yeah, baby…I'm back" is the hottest moment in the entire series, I contend. There are romantic moments and more-explicit moments…but this is my #1 for HEAT.

Jessica Roth

So we start Act 2 with one of Joss's extended takes, ending with Angel kissing Spike. (I told you there were reasons for all that fanfic…) Originally, Angel was supposed to KILL Spike here, to show his evil and establish his dominance, but Joss decided that Spike was too valuable as a contrary voice in the "evil lair" scenes, and besides killing a villain might confuse the "maybe he's still good" audience. Great end to the scene with "She made me feel like a real human being. That's not something you just forgive." David barely raises his voice in the episode, but Angel is always angry. For DECADES, the demon's been held in check by the spirit of that Irish kid that Darla killed way back, and he's had to watch every soppy "romantic" moment, a helpless prisoner. He's animating the body, he's the one that needs to feed, but that stupid soul kept ruining things. David plays this so well. As much as I despised that weak "I'll just feed and run" that didn't even convince Spike, here you can see that Angel is CONSTANTLY remembering how it felt to be dominated by Broody Boy, how every fiber of his being hated that, how much he wants revenge. The difference between reading the lines and feeling the part, I guess.

Jessica Roth

People (including Willow) react poorly to Xander's "say hi for me", but I don't get it. Seems like basic manners to me. I think Xander's just annoyed because he isn't making any progress, but you might be right it's also about his personal life. I absolutely love the little nose-wrinkle Cordelia does right before they kiss. And nice catch on the romantic music (as opposed to the comedy soundtrack for their first kisses), right before the trouble happens. So not only does Cordelia have to worry about the social consequences of being exposed (I wish they'd kept the Cordy/Harmony scene from last episode to underline this but I guess it's implicit), but she saw Xander run after Willow without an apology, any word at all or any thought directed her way. Willow is upset and Xander follows, no time for CC. Ouch. For all we talk about Oz's Islanders gear, I kind of think Xander's sweater here looks like an Islanders jersey, minus the logo. I know the colors are wrong (blue+orange is Mets and Knicks, Islanders are blue+red), but that's the impression I get. XANDER: It's just kissing. It doesn't mean that much. Ouch. Heck of a thing to say to the girl who's been dreaming that you'll be her first kiss since who-knows-when. (And not terribly respectful of Cordelia, but that's a different subject.) Is this meant to foreshadow Angel's "Lighten up. It was a good time" coming up? Hmm. So Buffy's at her house, but decides not to enter, and goes to Angel's place instead. Or, more precisely, Joss decided. The original script called for Angel to show up at Buffy's and for them to have their convo on her front lawn. But they shot it, and it didn't work. It's too intimate a conversation to have in public. So they moved it to Angel's apartment, but you can still see the original intent…next act Buffy will say "when I saw him at the HOUSE" because the Library scenes were shot before this one.

Whisper_dvm
>>67149215

Oh that’s interesting. I always thought the “house” comment was weird word choice for Angels apartment. Makes sense now!

darcieswatchingbuffy
>>67070748

FAIR... i havent liked angel very much either (obviously lol) hes very much in the minus points still at this point so i dont blame ya! HOWEVER i am very curious about your rant so dont forget about! once it wont be a spoiler, id love to hear it hehe :)

darcieswatchingbuffy
>>67072234

LOL omg when you lay it out like this.... SO MUCH HAPPENED! my biggest hope is for Cal and Rupe to be okay... i feel bad for her and dont blame her for lying. i likely would have too in her position. but i LOVE that one of the team members caused a bit of a ripple. it just makes things so interesting. overall such a good episode, and it's only mid season! (or a bit past mid)

darcieswatchingbuffy
>>67103972

ohhhh i knew before he turned around too and maybe it was because of how he stood up!!! that is so interesting.... i haven't screen shot it - i will have to go back and look at the face i dont even remember it LOL i was just shocked like omg its happening.. he killed someone so like.. this is real! it was a wild feeling!

darcieswatchingbuffy
>>67113020

VERY interesting stuff about making Cal look smaller - especially that super weird high angle (it almost made me feel a little dizzy watching it thats why i pointed it out) so i love this analysis so much!

ghostofdurruti

Great reaction to what is probably the first truly great episode of the series imo! On the subject of Jenny getting a notification that Angel's lost his soul: at my work, we use an app called pagerduty to alert us when something breaks and needs attention outside normal working hours. One of the "ringtones" it can play when that happens is this, to the tune of Frere Jacques: "Something's broken, something's broken, it's your fault! It's your fault! Are you gonna fix it? Are you gonna fix it? Right away! Right away!" So when you brought that up I couldn't help but imagine Cal's nonexistent cell phone suddenly going off and playing that song when Angel lost his soul :D

Jessica Roth

Moving to the "Was I Not Good?" scene itself, we have more great work from David. (And of course SMG, but that's pretty much a given.) I love the vulpine grin he gets during his and Buffy's second hug, his face over her unsuspecting shoulder, anticipating the lovely pain he plans on causing her. And then Angel does a great job of "brushing Buffy off", featuring one of Joss's best lines: "No, really; I thought you were a pro." Making Buffy feel like a child (who doesn't understand what sex is), a fool (for thinking things it should have been "obvious" Angel didn't), a virgin (who's useless in the sack), and a slut (who gave it up far too easily) all at once. You bastard. (Either Angel or Joss.) And remember what I said about "42nd Street"? The "bells ringing, fireworks, a dulcet choir of pretty little birdies?" line is practically musical theatre; if Angel had broken out into a song and dance routine, I wouldn't have been completely surprised, lol. But back in the actual show, we then get what I think is the best bit of physical acting in the series…The Thoughtful Finger. When Angel reaches for Buffy and she pulls away ("Don't touch me") and puts his chin in his fist (as if "blaming himself" for "expecting her to be more mature") and then wags the finger at her, going "I should have known…" As if saying he "seized" her on impulse, but now that he's thought things through, he realizes that Buffy wasn't "grown-up" enough. Devastating, and so wonderfully evil. And now more acting with his back to the camera from David; as he turns away (while Buffy's going "I love you!") you can see that Angel is fighting hard not to bust out laughing. Great stuff. Joss's script had Angel winking at Buffy when he goes "Love you, too", but that's unnecessary. The simple blithe reply (and the obvious lie of the ensuing "I'll call you") are all we need. Top work.

Teresa Schultz

I’m just coming out of my COVID delirium and saw these were posted. So excited for these great reactions and more to come!

Jessica Roth

Off to The Incredible Shrinking Jenny/Jana and her uncle. Uncle says exposition that will be replayed in future "Previously…" clips, Jenny protests. Uncle is standing, Jenny is seated. Uncle is shot from a low angle (making him taller), Jenny is shot from above, making her smaller. Only at the end does Jenny stand…and that's to walk away from the camera, towards the door, and thus getting smaller as she walks away. JENNY/JANA: People are going to die! Well, somebody already has died, but she can be forgiven for not knowing about Alley Woman. (Or should she? Doesn't Willow still hack into the coroner's office and read the reports, as in "Some Assembly Required"? Hmm.) But Jenny is clearly a prophet here; the person she says this to won't make it out of Act 3.

Brandon Scott
>>67149215

Interesting thoughts. Your first seemed a bit odd to me. It’s not the phrase, “Say hi for me” that evokes the bad reaction. It’s the timing. Willow: No, don’t even say that. Angel is not dead.” Xander: Say hi for me. If it still doesn’t make sense consider someone you love, someone who is a family member or a dear friend whose happiness you purport to care about. Now consider that they are fearing for another loved ones life. This person whom you deeply care for cares for this other person who is missing and feared hurt or dead. They express that fear and your response would be what? Would it be to dismiss your loved one’s fears, as well as to dismiss the pain and stress they are under, to change the subject to something trivial. Just my thoughts. That’s why it gets a side-eye from me, anyway.

Michael Mammano-Cheydleur

The strike against Buffy's sexuality, while unfortunate in the grand scheme, was a casualty of the metaphor. The entire theme of Season 2 was basically "Love Hurts," the main Villain arc, being the de-souling of Angel, which would disrupt both Buffy/Angel and Spike/Drusilla. The idea behind sex being the trigger was a supernatural twist on "I slept with my boyfriend, and now he won't call me." The idea that sometimes when you sleep with a guy, he changes afterward and turns out to be a bastard. I can definitely see how it had unfortunate implications, but Giles' speech to Buffy in the car was an attempt to counteract that idea. The primary man in Buffy's life, her patriarchal surrogate, step in and rather than shaming her, her supports and validates her, saying to both her and the audience that she did nothing wrong and Angel's bad behavior is all on Angel.