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Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight.
Today is a sleeeepy day. Managed to get this down while the baby slept (started it last night - Darcy was out till late, and I also polished off the fic that hated me! *deep sigh of relief*)
This one was fun to watch - especially since Darcy didn’t remember it and was guessing at what was happening. :)
The overriding theme of this episode is loneliness and this is spelled out during the English lesson at the beginning of the episode:
“How does what Shylock says here about being a Jew relate to our discussion about the anger of the outcast in society?”
Now it is examined though three characters: Buffy, Cordelia and Marcie.
Buffy is the obvious outsider - the very first scene with Buffy dropping her bag full of weapons in front of Cordy establishes this. Her Slayerness sets her apart, and she even feels lonely with the friends she does have, when they laugh over a memory she doesn't share.
Cordelia is Buffy’s opposite - selfcentered, only concerned with appearance and popularity, and dismissive of anyone of a lower social standing.
But - things are not that simple. We find out (and have suspected for a while) that Buffy used to be like Cordelia:
“Well, we didn't call it 'May Queen', but we had the coronation, and the dance, and all that stuff. It was nice.”
There is also the sad, longing look in her eyes as she spies on Cordelia trying on her dress - she is only 16 and it is clear that she wishes she could be just an ordinary girl with no worries other than clothes and dates.
And Cordelia shows that a lot of what we see is just a fascade - the ‘real’ Cordy has feelings:
Cordelia: Hey! You think I'm never lonely because I'm so cute and popular? I can be surrounded by people and be completely alone. It's not like any of them really know me. I don't even know if they like me half the time. People just want to be in a popular zone. Sometimes when I talk, everyone's so busy agreeing with me, they don't hear a word I say.
Buffy: Well, if you feel so alone, then why do you work so hard at being popular?
Cordelia: Well, it beats being alone all by yourself.
Of course, with time Cordy will learn how much more rewarding real friendships are (from 'Disharmony'):
Harmony: "We were powerful, rich, popular."
Cordy: "None of that's changed for me - apart from the powerful, rich and popular. - But I tell you one thing: I am happier now than I was then."
Harmony: "Get out."
Cordy: "It's hard to explain. I'm telling you. It's like - I don't know. I had these air pockets inside of me, and the work I'm doing, uh, we're doing, it's-it's like the pockets keep getting filled and I'm becoming me and...
Now Marcie... here we have another victim/monster case. Now why did she have no friends? Did *nobody* like her at all? Or... the flashbacks are very limited of course, but we only see her trying to interact with Cordelia’s group and getting the brush off (not surprisingly). I can’t help but feel that if she’d tried to talk with say Willow, the response might have been different. Of course I don’t know if she did, but from what we learn it would seem not. So is she angry with Cordy because she could never be popular herself? Gah! Too many thoughts.
The main thing is, that what she and Cordelia have in common is self-absorption. It's all me, me, me, which isn't healthy. Buffy is the person to emulate here - she could have Cordelia's popularity, but rejected that path in favour of her calling. And although she is an outcast in many ways, she has not turned against those she might envy.
Anyway, it all reminded me of another episode: Earshot. The end speeches have similar elements, but of course in ‘Earshot’ Buffy has an actual chance to save Jonathan, and is also that little bit older and wiser:
From ‘Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight’:
Buffy: Y'know, I really felt sorry for you. You've suffered. There's one thing I really didn't factor into all this. You're a thundering loony!
From ‘Earshot’:
Jonathan: Stop saying my name like we're friends! We're not friends! You all think I'm an idiot! A short idiot!
Buffy: I don't. I don't think about you much at all. Nobody here really does. Bugs you, doesn't it. You have all this pain, and all these feelings and nobody's really paying attention.
Jonathan: You think I just want attention?
Buffy: No. I think you're up in the clock tower with a high-powered rifle because you wanna blend in. Believe it or not, Jonathan, I understand about the pain.
Jonathan: Oh right. Cuz the burden of being beautiful and athletic, that's a crippler.
Buffy: You know what? I was wrong. You are an idiot. My life happens to, on occasion, suck beyond the telling of it. Sometimes more than I can handle. And it's not just mine. Every single person down there is ignoring your pain because they're too busy with their own.
I very much like the ending with the FBI guys (why did they arrive just that little too late? Did they want to make sure she was crazy enough?) - it shows that the government knows about mysterious goings on, and also that they use it to their own advantage in very shady ways indeed. A nice little forerunner for The Initiative.
Otherwise I also love that the epsiode is referenced in ‘Gone’ and ‘Storyteller’! :)
Oh and the shot where Buffy stops and focusses - light shimmering around her in an almost magical way - is absolutely gorgeous and definitely one of those ‘I designed Buffy to be an icon’! (Also of course, it probably makes Buffy look on the positive aspects of her Slayerness - she isn't a helpless victim like Cordy!)
Now on a completely shallow note, the scene with Giles and Angel in the library is priceless beyond words! I’m not one for slash, but Giles’ stuttering and obvious discomfort (attraction?) are quite something. Heh.
Staying on the shallow - re. the very final scene (with Marcie and all the other invisible students) here’s Darcy’s comment: “Hm - cheap way to shoot a scene!”
And my favourite line of the ep:
Cordelia: Because you're always around when all this weird stuff is happening. And I know you're very strong, and you've got all those weapons... I was kind of hoping you were in a gang.
This one was fun to watch - especially since Darcy didn’t remember it and was guessing at what was happening. :)
The overriding theme of this episode is loneliness and this is spelled out during the English lesson at the beginning of the episode:
“How does what Shylock says here about being a Jew relate to our discussion about the anger of the outcast in society?”
Now it is examined though three characters: Buffy, Cordelia and Marcie.
Buffy is the obvious outsider - the very first scene with Buffy dropping her bag full of weapons in front of Cordy establishes this. Her Slayerness sets her apart, and she even feels lonely with the friends she does have, when they laugh over a memory she doesn't share.
Cordelia is Buffy’s opposite - selfcentered, only concerned with appearance and popularity, and dismissive of anyone of a lower social standing.
But - things are not that simple. We find out (and have suspected for a while) that Buffy used to be like Cordelia:
“Well, we didn't call it 'May Queen', but we had the coronation, and the dance, and all that stuff. It was nice.”
There is also the sad, longing look in her eyes as she spies on Cordelia trying on her dress - she is only 16 and it is clear that she wishes she could be just an ordinary girl with no worries other than clothes and dates.
And Cordelia shows that a lot of what we see is just a fascade - the ‘real’ Cordy has feelings:
Cordelia: Hey! You think I'm never lonely because I'm so cute and popular? I can be surrounded by people and be completely alone. It's not like any of them really know me. I don't even know if they like me half the time. People just want to be in a popular zone. Sometimes when I talk, everyone's so busy agreeing with me, they don't hear a word I say.
Buffy: Well, if you feel so alone, then why do you work so hard at being popular?
Cordelia: Well, it beats being alone all by yourself.
Of course, with time Cordy will learn how much more rewarding real friendships are (from 'Disharmony'):
Harmony: "We were powerful, rich, popular."
Cordy: "None of that's changed for me - apart from the powerful, rich and popular. - But I tell you one thing: I am happier now than I was then."
Harmony: "Get out."
Cordy: "It's hard to explain. I'm telling you. It's like - I don't know. I had these air pockets inside of me, and the work I'm doing, uh, we're doing, it's-it's like the pockets keep getting filled and I'm becoming me and...
Now Marcie... here we have another victim/monster case. Now why did she have no friends? Did *nobody* like her at all? Or... the flashbacks are very limited of course, but we only see her trying to interact with Cordelia’s group and getting the brush off (not surprisingly). I can’t help but feel that if she’d tried to talk with say Willow, the response might have been different. Of course I don’t know if she did, but from what we learn it would seem not. So is she angry with Cordy because she could never be popular herself? Gah! Too many thoughts.
The main thing is, that what she and Cordelia have in common is self-absorption. It's all me, me, me, which isn't healthy. Buffy is the person to emulate here - she could have Cordelia's popularity, but rejected that path in favour of her calling. And although she is an outcast in many ways, she has not turned against those she might envy.
Anyway, it all reminded me of another episode: Earshot. The end speeches have similar elements, but of course in ‘Earshot’ Buffy has an actual chance to save Jonathan, and is also that little bit older and wiser:
From ‘Out Of Mind, Out Of Sight’:
Buffy: Y'know, I really felt sorry for you. You've suffered. There's one thing I really didn't factor into all this. You're a thundering loony!
From ‘Earshot’:
Jonathan: Stop saying my name like we're friends! We're not friends! You all think I'm an idiot! A short idiot!
Buffy: I don't. I don't think about you much at all. Nobody here really does. Bugs you, doesn't it. You have all this pain, and all these feelings and nobody's really paying attention.
Jonathan: You think I just want attention?
Buffy: No. I think you're up in the clock tower with a high-powered rifle because you wanna blend in. Believe it or not, Jonathan, I understand about the pain.
Jonathan: Oh right. Cuz the burden of being beautiful and athletic, that's a crippler.
Buffy: You know what? I was wrong. You are an idiot. My life happens to, on occasion, suck beyond the telling of it. Sometimes more than I can handle. And it's not just mine. Every single person down there is ignoring your pain because they're too busy with their own.
I very much like the ending with the FBI guys (why did they arrive just that little too late? Did they want to make sure she was crazy enough?) - it shows that the government knows about mysterious goings on, and also that they use it to their own advantage in very shady ways indeed. A nice little forerunner for The Initiative.
Otherwise I also love that the epsiode is referenced in ‘Gone’ and ‘Storyteller’! :)
Oh and the shot where Buffy stops and focusses - light shimmering around her in an almost magical way - is absolutely gorgeous and definitely one of those ‘I designed Buffy to be an icon’! (Also of course, it probably makes Buffy look on the positive aspects of her Slayerness - she isn't a helpless victim like Cordy!)
Now on a completely shallow note, the scene with Giles and Angel in the library is priceless beyond words! I’m not one for slash, but Giles’ stuttering and obvious discomfort (attraction?) are quite something. Heh.
Staying on the shallow - re. the very final scene (with Marcie and all the other invisible students) here’s Darcy’s comment: “Hm - cheap way to shoot a scene!”
And my favourite line of the ep:
Cordelia: Because you're always around when all this weird stuff is happening. And I know you're very strong, and you've got all those weapons... I was kind of hoping you were in a gang.