"Anne" [3x01] Review by Mikelangelo "MikeJer" Marinaro Posted by MikeJer on November 5, 2005 Writer: Joss WhedonDirector: Joss Whedon Quick Links Spoiler Warning! This is a retrospective review and may contain spoilers from anywhere in the series. Read at your own peril. Review And S3 begins! I have very mixed feelings about this episode. What I really wanted to see here was a dark and gritty tale about Buffy's isolation. I wanted to see her slowly fix the emotional issues that were plaguing her from the events of "Becoming Pt. 2" (2x22). I wanted this to last at least three episodes and be entirely focused on Buffy. Well, it's pretty obvious I didn't get what I wanted at all with this, but that isn't to say it's no good. On the contrary, it's a pretty solid episode with moments of genuine insight. It's just really not what I was looking for. The episode begins with an amusing scene back in Sunnydale where the remaining Scoobies are attempting to keep the vampire population down and hoping that Buffy returns. Oz's failed thrown stake and subsequent "that never works" always cracks me up. My problem with this scene, along with all the scenes taking place back in Sunnydale, is that they, while amusing, feel like a lightweight distraction from what I really want to see: a runaway Buffy. That story is simply too important to combine it with Cordelia and Xander worrying about their hair style. Anyway, I loved Buffy's dream with Angel on the beach. It shows a vision of all she truly wanted since becoming the Slayer: a nice normal boyfriend who she could spend a romantic evening on the beach with. "Buffy vs. Dracula" (5x01) shows her actually having a brief moment like this with Riley before everything quickly turns dark and rains them away. She then wakes up and we find out that she's been impressively taking care of herself in the real world. This makes it obvious that she isn't running away from 'responsibility' but rather just from being the Slayer. We can tell, though, that even through the depression Buffy is not fully hardened yet. She has taken the first step into adulthood but is still a young girl inside that basically just wants to be held. We find out later that this away-from-home experience made her realize for the first time that when it comes to Slaying she will always be alone; no one else can ever share that burder with her (until the beautiful end of the series). One of the few scenes in Sunnydale I thought was meaningful is the Joyce and Giles conversation. She blames him entirely for being the cause of Buffy's disappearance. They have a really important exchange which brings out the focus of this entire episode: identity. Joyce says, "I blame you. You've been this huge influence on her, guiding her. You had this whole relationship with her behind my back. I feel like you've taken her away from me." Giles responds, "I didn't make Buffy who she is." Joyce answers, "And who exactly is she?" During the summer, alone, Buffy has been thinking that she has two distinct parts to her being: the Slayer half and the human half. After the events of "Becoming Pt. 2" (2x22) she wanted to completely rid herself of the Slayer 'half.' The problem with this, and what she ultimately realizes through helping the helpless Lily, is that she isn't two distinct halves. She is one whole which is evenly blended between the Slayer and the human. There is no separating the two. My answer to Joyce's question is that Buffy is a unique individual who posesses great strength and empathy, neither of which are completely related with the fact she is the Slayer. Being the Slayer amplifies her strength, but as we saw in a flashback during "Becoming Pt. 1" (2x21), Buffy possessed great inner strength before even knowing what being the Slayer meant. The first moment when Buffy realizes that being the Slayer is part of her no matter what is when she decides to help Lily. Lily tells her she doesn't know what to do; she doesn't know how to exist without relying on others. As much as I really wanted a dark and gritty Buffy story, the theme of identity works pretty well. When caputured, the demon Ken tells the two girls, "What is Hell but the total absence of hope? The substance, the tactile proof of despair." We find out quickly that Lily is at the point of this dispair, but Buffy is certainly not. A guard walks up to the new group of slaves, asking them who they are. They must reply with, "I am no one" or receive a beating. When Buffy's turn comes she puts on a perky grin and completely regains her identity by responding, "I'm Buffy. The Vampire Slayer. And you are...?" This is a fantastic "I'm back!" moment and was well earned. Also, as a bonus we get a satisfying extended fight sequence where Buffy rips apart hoards of demon guards. The final scene in Buffy's apartment with Lily is very intriguing. Lily gains confidence from her experience with Buffy and wants to 'become' her now previous persona, Anne. Lily still hasn't found herself yet, like Buffy hadn't while being Anne. But adopting the Anne persona makes her feel like something still with hope; someone who underneath the isolation has a lot of power and self motivation. While being Anne was a step backwards for Buffy, it proves to be a step up for Lily. This is a truly hopeful and heartwarming ending. It's also great knowing that 'Anne' will become a useful person in society when she appears on AtS. I wanted an extended dark and gritty tale and I got something different. Since the writers took the lighter route I'm glad they had Buffy home at the end of the episode. The darker route I wanted would have warranted multiple episodes though. Overall this is a very good episode that misses the mark in a few places. Minor Pros/Cons (+/-)
Foreshadowing
Quotes WILLOW:Well, we try not to get killed. That's part of our whole mission statement. 'Don't get killed.'LARRY:This is our year, I'm telling you. Best football season ever. I'm so in shape, I'm a rock. It's all about egg whites. If we can focus, keep discipline, and not have quite as many mysterious deaths, Sunnydale is gonna rule! BUFFY:This'll probably go faster if we split up. LILY:(nods in agreement) Can I come with you? BUFFY:I don't want any trouble. I just want to be alone and quiet in a room with a chair and a fireplace and a tea cozy. I don't even know what a tea cozy is, but I want one. GUARD:(to Lily) Who are you? LILY:No one. GUARD:(to Buffy) Who are you? BUFFY:(perky) I'm Buffy. The Vampire Slayer. And you are...?
Screencaps
Comments (36) All Comments | Link2 | hi jess again Apr 14, 2007 hi i loved this epasoide and here the song for that epasoed youtube buffy hit you with the real thing !! All Comments | Link3 | AustinAug 22, 2007 While i agree that it would have been interesting to see the darker version of Buffy's experiance away from home, I don't see how it could have happened any other way. If she has all this inner strength and she has matured so much through the events of last season, how could she not have faced her problems and come out on top like she does in the ep. While I agree that it leaves something wanting, I think that this was ulitimately the way to go. All Comments | Link4 | TamoraSep 21, 2007 Extention to the 'Buffy Running Away' foreshadow-y thing: In S5, Buffy first runs away in a different way than leving town or sacraficing herself: in the Weight of the World, she looses everything and experiences a complete emotional breakdown, causing her mind to collapse into itself. She runs away mentally, even if not on purpose. She can't deal anymore. However, when faced with all the things she was facing at that moment (the death of her mother, Tara's sanity lost, Dawn kidnapped, the world "definately doomed", and the pressure of everything else that's been building up this season), I'd say anyone would experience something along those lines. Buffy running away is a constant motif in this series: from relationships to responsibilities to... well, just about anything. You name it, she's run away from it. It our own way, we all have. I wouldn't call this episode a disappointment. It could have been better, but it was neccessary, well-written, and addressed some major issues that needed to be brought out. All Comments | Link5 | MikeJer | CREATOR/ADMINSep 21, 2007 The episode was a disappointment for me because, as I outlined in the review, I wanted something that showed us Buffy's new life in a lot more gritty detail and wasn't resolved in one episode. "Anne" has some positive qualities, which is why it scores alright, but it definately isn't what I wanted as a follow-up to "Becoming Pt. 2." The first three episodes of S6 had a much better idea of follow-through than "Anne" could ever hope to in its wildest dreams. All Comments | Link6 | buffyholicOct 21, 2007 I really like this episode, actually I´m a big fan of the first four episodes of this season. Once again, we see that all of the Scoobies are more mature than last season and that´s refreshing to see. I so love the ending fight scene and the Joyce/Giles interaction. Really good episode. All Comments | Link7 | wilpy1Mar 8, 2008 Were the Communist/Socialist undertones intentional? I'm still wondering about that. This episode is quite good. Not the strongest season opener, but I like the idea of Buffy living alone in LA in a dingy apartment. I think it was suitably dark and gritty. Perhaps it could've been a two-part opener with Buffy returning to Sunnydale at the end of the second episode, just to give a bit more substance to her depression and loneliness, but I don't think a depress-a-thon, like the first three episodes of s6, was needed. (Those were infinitely better, though. But then 'The Gift' was that much darker than 'Becoming') All Comments | Link8 | GornSep 2, 2008 "Were the Communist/Socialist undertones intentional? I'm still wondering about that." Definitely. After all, she attacks a demon-run underground sweatshop, and liberates the oppressed workers, using a hammer and a sickle as her weapons. They even kept the hammer&sickle shot in the credits in later seasons :D All Comments | Link9 | ZillexMar 1, 2009 I actually like this episode quite a bit. Some reasons: -After seeing Season 6 (and the 2nd half of S5), I was glad that Buffy didn't spend too long in isolation/depression. She has plenty of time for that later. This ep reinforced the idea of Buffy's loneliness and sets up future themes, without dragging it out for too long. -It introduced us to what a Demon dimension could be like. It makes it more meaningful when we later learn Angel was trapped in one. It also showed how time moves differently, so it didn't seem strange later on. Seeing a depiction of the demon dimension also let us sympathize a little more with the Scoobies when they resurrect Buffy in S5, because we know how horrible it would be if Buffy really was trapped in hell Personally I felt this one of the strongest Season openers, second only to The Bargaining. All Comments | Link10 | EmilyMar 15, 2009 I just want to say that Joyce really pisses me off this season for a number of reasons. The top two are: 1- in this episode, when she blames Giles for Buffy running away. What the hell? Who lived with Buffy for two years and didn't realize something besides "teenage rebellion" was going on? Who kicked her out of the house? She really has some nerve blaming it on Giles, of all people, who was the one who told her in "Innocence" that he didn't blame her, who was the one who comforted her and helped her get thru everything. 2- When she tells Angel that he and Buffy should break up. Really- who does Joyce think she is? She can't just ignore her daughter for two years and then magically decide that she wants to have a say in her life. That's crap. *End of rant* Not a bad ep- I agree with the score. All Comments | Link11 | ChristianMay 21, 2009 I just got season 3 dvd’s, it’s the only one I didn’t own so now I’m watching it and paying more attention. I thought Anne was a good episode. It had some funny moments as well as some touching ones. I would have also thought that Buffy’s return to Sunnydale would have been more complicated than it actually was, but then again I considered that Buffy was practically gone for 3 months. I guess she must have gone through really hard moments during that time, many of which could have made up another episode; but maybe that wasn’t really relevant due to the fact that we’re expected to understand how much grieving she must have gone through already. This was just the final part to a long process of healing that Buffy had to go through. On another note, I thought the Scoobie interaction was ok. I had a real problem with OZ getting left back in school when I first saw this; I thought it was a lame excuse for having him around. Xander and Cordelia were adorable and great scene with Joyce and Giles… all in all a nice episode. All Comments | Link12 | UrsusAug 23, 2009 A watchable episode, but I agree it was lacking, a missed opportunity. The plot was kind of lame and heavy handed. Anne seems rather weak and stupid. I doubt she could have survived on her own even after Buffy's help. Her one asset was her body, and perhaps something should have been done along those lines. That would have been a dark episode ... Not saying Buffy herself should have been ended up on exactly those lines, but I find it hard to believe she lived in decent apartment in LA on a waitress' salary. I also find it hard to believe the scoobie gang sans Buffy survived fighting vampires all summer. Perhaps they can hold their own against one vamp, but if they ran into a pack of them they'd surely be dead. And finally, the "deeply stupid" Sunndydale police clearing Buffy of murder charges after 3 months seem highly convenient, especially with the Mayor in control of things. All Comments | Link13 | ChrisAug 23, 2009 I don't know how you can not have a or quote for buffy's Ghandi impression. I think its one of the best lines in the show! All Comments | Link14 | ydntktOct 7, 2009 @ 5:23pm I try watching this one episode but nobody has it! it is my all time favorite episode! it is making me mad! :( All Comments | Link15 | DFAS GilesNov 9, 2009 @ 6:27pm After Cordelia and Xander make a vamp sandwich on the ground, why doesn't the stake skewer Cordelia after the vamp dusts? I was cringing and waiting for Cordelia to be impaled (I suppose they were saving that for later in S3...). All Comments | Link16 | NixApr 27, 2010 @ 3:13pm I notice that Ken lied to everyone he met, except, unwittingly, Buffy. He said 'you might find something you're missing' at his litle family home-cum-dark satanic mill. She did, twice: Ricky, and her Slayerness (or at least 'killing demons and getting a lift out of it'). All Comments | Link17 | nathan.taurusAug 15, 2010 @ 6:53pm The Good: Oz throwing the stake at the vampire and it doing nothing. An accurate depiction of Los Angeles, not the Hollywood movie version. Buffy losing Lily on the "splitting up" plan. Cordelia referencing Xander and his Inca Mummy Girl. Buffy wanting a room witha chair a fireplace and a tea cosy. "I'm Buffy, the vampire slayer, and you are?" Buffy's impression of Ghandi. The Bad: The sad instrumental music showing the homeless. All Comments | Link18 | AliceNov 5, 2010 @ 12:20am This is one of my favourite episodes, mostly because it contained the best fight sequence (and that cheeky hammer and sickle thing- brilliant). Also, after watching season six, I'm glad Buffy's isolation wasn't dragged out. All Comments | Link19 | thegirlwiththebutterflytattoosJan 2, 2011 @ 7:10pm Well I don't mind this episode its pretty good I mean it's not the best and not the worst or anything, but yea. I really like the part where Buffy is talking to the lady at the blood donor place when she broke in. "What are you doing?" 'Breaking into your office and looking through your personal files' I just think it's a cute scene where Buffy gets sick of making up excuses. All Comments | Link20 | odigityJan 17, 2011 @ 7:57am I'm surprised there's no mention of the awesome oner (http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheOner) in the beginning of the episode that reintroduces the school setting and many of the main and secondary characters, followed by a harsh cut to a still, silent show of Buffy sitting alone in a depressing apartment. It's up there with the oner at the beginning of the film "Serenity". All Comments | Link21 | fray-adjacentJan 17, 2011 @ 12:53pm Love that oner. Only noticed it after seeing the episode 3 or 4 times, though. All Comments | Link22 | smallprint84Apr 19, 2011 @ 5:16am I also liked this ep. a lot. It contained indeed one of the best fighting sequences from S3 (of course also the Buffy/Faith fights were awesome). I liked the unusual thing of Buffy having her own mission in LA, without friends. oh yeah and Bellylove!! All Comments | Link23 | nkJul 23, 2011 @ 8:55pm I was going to mention the oner too (although I wouldn't have known what to call it) - it's such a brilliant re-introduction to all the characters and the school. You can tell it's a Joss Whedon write/direct effort just from that, because the words and visuals work so well together. All Comments | Link24 | Gemma Dec 21, 2011 @ 1:32pm Anne is an episode that i value, its one that acts as the beginning to the answers we are after regarding Buffy and the gang since leaving them at the end of Becoming pt 2. The dark corner of LA is an insightful visual into Buffy's mind and the emotions she is feeling and the others she is running from. Buffy is attempting to hide from her calling, to run from the slayer part of her. This is made most palpable in the way she dismisses Lily at the cafe when she asks Buffy where she is from and then escalated when Lily asks her for help. Lily though is the answer Buffy is looking for, she makes Buffy see that the slayer is part of who she is, which is finally lets in with the amazing line 'I'm Buffy, The Vampire Slayer. And you are?' Buffy's back! Its a nice touch that Lily wants to be Anne at the end of this episode, she looks to Buffy and the inner strength she has. Touching scenes like this are the ones i love in this series. Both of these characters receive a myriad of growth and development. From this episode on both become true to themselves, find their way and step into the sun, for Buffy that means going home to Sunnydale. The emotions back in Buffy's home town are turbulent, Giles and Joyce's conversation is a prominent part of this episode i think anyway, instead if Joyce's anger being diluted she turns it on Giles, but she doesn't say anything untrue or uncalled for she is encroaching on fear and concern for Buffy and her anger is valid. Giles had been having a relationship with Buffy behind Joyce's back, he truly knew Buffy where as Joyce was only knew part of her daughter. A great scene, Joyce is as lost as Buffy is, the audience can resonate with her. Evolution and evoking the new is a theme with the scoobies back in Sunnydale, Willow is evolving in turns of magic ability and in confidence, her new polished look and her relationship with Oz. Xander and Cordelia are back to experiencing bursts of passion after heated arguments which has been quintessential of their relationship. The entire gang are still as cohesive as ever with their taking on the slaying in Buffy's absence, even if their success rate isn't that conducive! I'm glad in some respect that Buffy returned quickly and that her misery and pain wasn't plaguing her for too long. Buffy has all that to come, but she is growing up that is palpable. All Comments | Link25 | sigmuphiJan 16, 2012 @ 6:36pm I love this episode, just watched it yet again. Buffy/Anne feels depressingly and therefore so solidly real. It's just about getting through another day -- which *does* sometimes take Slayer-type superhuman strength. But it's the human part which finally returns her to herself, when a real person asks for and needs her help -- it's like Lily is Ariadne, and her simple genuine need is the thread that our Theseus needs to find her way home. Speaking of coming home -- don't be so hard on Joyce. Sure, she takes her anger and frustration out on Giles. But when she endures those obvious and involuntary starts whenever some one knocks on the door...no great creativity in those moments, but you still have to imagine how many times over the last three months she's done that, each time scolding herself not to be so ridiculous, yet each time not being able to help herself. You can see all those wheels simultaneously spinning in her head, spinning in circles with no place to go, and your eyes well up in sympathy that last time, just waiting for her to finally open the door and start her life again. And what is a tea cozy, anyway? All Comments | Link26 | AlexJan 18, 2012 @ 8:38am A tea-cosy is like a little woolly hat you put over a teapot to keep it warm. Nowadays you only really see them in tearooms that are deliberately trying to be quaint and old-fashioned. All Comments | Link27 | ZedMar 18, 2012 @ 1:02am Pshh this episode was a 90. I saw this one out of order before I had finished season 2, just to see what was coming. I thought it was awesome. I was surprised how season 3 turned out because this episode seemed to be more grown up and focused with very depressing tone which made it MORE uplifting when Buffy remembered who she was an kicked butt. I think the reviewer is correct in his ultimate summation of Season 3 that it lacked emotion, and this episode is a great example of what the season could've been like had it been willing to raise the emotional stakes. Depression was the overwhelming emotion here, and I loved her snapping out of it with the top down camera shots of the battle sequence! The season needed more emotional tones like an episode filled with Hate or Fear and stuff like that...but it sacrifices intensity for dialogue and fitting all the character stuff in. Bleh All Comments | Link28 | DaveMay 26, 2012 @ 4:37am Bloody hated this episode. "Lily" drives me crazy, the actress grates. All Comments | Link29 | JWHJun 10, 2012 @ 5:07pm Another point about the Communism stuff brought up in comments 7 and 8 - in Bargaining Pt. 1 (S6x01), Willow refers to Buffy as "the warrior of the people" while casting the spell that brings her back to life. Also, notice the Scoobies' attitudes toward money. In Crush (S5x14), Xander is "payday man" and will buy everyone's drinks at the Bronze. His money is their money. There's another scene - I forget where - when they're in front of a vending machine, one of them doesn't have money and just holds out their hand and another ponies up. Property is pretty communal in their group. That said, I think the politics in this show are more anarchist than socialist. More accurately, it seems to have two modes: anarchist and socialist, and the anarchist mode is the dominant one. The socialist mode is kind of an alternate reality "we could have done the show this way instead" thing. And yes, I think Anne is one of the comparatively rare socialist episodes. All Comments | Link30 | CordeliachaseApr 11, 2013 @ 10:19pm Problem? Buffy only liberated the lattest group of slaves, Her victory seemed minor... Their seemed to be more guards left in the Factory dimension even with Ken dead, it seemed to me the Portal was closed because the Demons figured this location was compromised... so they set up shop somewhere else, so the only justice Buffy imposed, was rob them of a few guards, and their lattest shipment of slaves.... am I being cynical, or did no one else notice that? All Comments | Link31 | Iguana-on-a-stickApr 12, 2013 @ 4:27am *in reply to Cordeliachase (#30) Yeah, I noticed that too.But then again... it's not like Buffy could have taken on an entire world of interdimensional slavers. Even with an army of slayers that would've been tricky. She achieved as much as any single hero thrown into such a situation could achieve. She saved dozens of people, shut down the operation and made the area safe again. Yes, the bad guys will probably rear their heads again elsewhere, and will have to be stopped again by other people. But such is the nature of things. It's still a considerable victory. Maybe it's because she's in LA and we're getting a preview of Angel's themes: evil can never be defeated permanently, it can only be fought. All Comments | Link32 | AlexApr 12, 2013 @ 9:39am *in reply to Iguana-on-a-stick (#31) You're right Cordeliachase, and I agree with Iguana that it feels a lot like an Angel episode in that respect (as well as being set in LA, of course). Often in Buffy it's quite open-and-shut when it comes to the MOTW - they come along, hurt some people, she defeats them and they're gone again. Whereas in this episode, and often on Angel, there's more a sense of 'fighting the good fight' and doing the best you can without necessarily ever winning or stopping every bad guy.All Comments | Link33 | WaverleyMay 1, 2013 @ 3:57pm I think it may have been mentioned before that 'Anne', in retrospect, feels a lot like anepisode of AtS what with its more grown-up vibe and LA setting. I'd certainly agree with that. I actually wonder whether Joss Whedon was using this to test the waters for what he had planned in the spinoff. What I'm wondering though is whether anyone else has noticed that the instrumental bit showing the homeless about 16 minutes in contains a shot of a woman on a road, which is used in the opening credits for AtS. I only just noticed that this evening and it gave me quite a thrill, thus proving that I am an enormous geek =D All Comments | Link34 | tgor365May 2, 2013 @ 11:36pm *in reply to Waverley (#33) I agree that it is a bit proto-Angel even if its still really Buffyish. I watched Angel first and I always wandered where that shot of a woman came from. I jumped when I saw that shot. I also kind of wondered if Anne and Angel remember each other from "Lie to Me."All Comments | Link35 | Ryan ONeilMay 3, 2013 @ 7:36am *in reply to tgor365 (#34) Judging by the time they meet in Angel S2, no they didn't :)All Comments | Link36 | tgor365May 3, 2013 @ 11:12pm *in reply to Ryan ONeil (#35) haha yeah probably not. I'd love to see a little "do I know you?" look.Post a Comment
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Latest News  Delays... MikeJer - Feb 24, 2013 Hey all!I just wanted to let you all know that I'm looking forward to getting going on my Season 2 review updates. I recently started a new job, so life has been extra bu... View Full Post Latest Comments Ryan ONeil [Gingerbread] *in reply to Vishal (#60) The popular theory on the forums is that:Before Buffy showed up, ... View CommentMay 21, 2013 Ryan ONeil [Consequences] *in reply to James (#30) Probably public property View CommentMay 19, 2013 Waverley [Family] This episode makes me cry like a big girly man every time. That bit where Buffy says 'Take h... View CommentMay 18, 2013 Latest Forum Posts Brachen Man [Supernatural Rewatch] "Sin City" is criminally underrated. That was Jeremy Carver's first episode as wel... View PostMay 21, 2013 Ryan ONeil [Xander Harris] The problem with DMP isn't the argument. It's A] the party being over the top and out of cha... View PostMay 20, 2013 MikeJer [Critically Touched Reviews: Frea] w00t w00t! View PostMay 19, 2013 |
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I'm on my third viewing, and it's taken me this long to see the obvious kneepads at 15:03!