2x20 Go Fish

There are plenty of filler episodes throughout Buffy the Vampire Slayer's history, but, even if you are not a big fan of those, consider not skipping this one. And I say that knowing there are many TV lovers out there who can't stand the existence of fillers. On the other hand, I am one of those who consider fillers an excellent opportunity for character development or even exploring the Universe and things the Show stands for.

That is why I believe this episode deserves your attention. We must always remember that BTVS was an iconic political statement about female empowerment and protagonism directed towards the teenage audiences. It tells us frequently about the dangers and fears surrounding young cisgender women, and naturalized sexual harassment is one of those. The whole plot about the athletes of Sunnydale High being abusive and exhaling volatile behavior, violence, male privilege, and sexual harassment put together with doping is a great opportunity to start dialogues about how all of that is clearly not cool. To pile up, the episode gives evidence to how the system never gives credit to a girl's voice over a boy's argument.

In another tone, but still talking about the same issue, Xander keeps being the comic relief of the series exactly by trying to fit in these horrendous masculine roles pushed to him by society when, actually, he should just accept that his true heroic figures are and will always be women. It is so hilarious to watch Xander struggling in his frequent failed attempts to be a macho man, that you can't even be mad at his retrograde discourse... He absolutely has no clue. So, this episode is also great at highlighting, not only how gender constructs are bad to women, but also how they affect men in the process. An important point for this discussion is Cordelia's deck of expectations about what her boyfriend should be like, putting Xander under pressure and leading him to almost become a monster.

Despite the traditional use of disposable characters that leads to a certain shallow look over the issues, along with the careless exploration invention of new parts of the school, this is still a great episode, simultaneously for: a) reinforcing all the political agenda of the show, leading both boys AND girls to think about toxic masculinity, sexual harassment, and doping; b) the development of Cordelia and Xander's couple plot; c) watching some misogynist scumbags having their faces and egos destroyed by a determined strong woman. Plus, the pop culture references are on point, as usual.

Did it have to be about fish-human hybrid demons, though?