[8.8/10] Outstanding episode. This is a great example of the show balancing the “high school as horror” conceit with Buffy wishing she could know what her boyfriend was thinking and then getting the ability to read minds. It goes for both comedy, with the thoughts of Xander, Cordy, Oz, and even Wesley, for action, when Angel and Buffy fight the demons, for drama, when the Scoobies have to race to find the killer, for pathos, when Jonathan admits his pain, and for character growth and understanding, when Buffy realizes how much everyone is in pain.
There’s also a brilliant escalation with Buffy’s powers, going from a neat thing to a curse very quickly. And the way she goes from wanting to understand others’ thoughts to being desperate to block them out is the perfect “be careful what you wish for.” All along the way, there’s brilliant fakeouts and red herrings, from the sardonic newspaper editor just avoiding hassle for his bad review of Oz’s band, to the lunch lady being the ultimate culprit. And the dialogue, as always, is winning and hilarious, with Cordelia’s concern for the cheerleaders being the peak. This show was pitching its fastball right now, mastering shifts in story and tone and conversation so expertly it’s amazing.
Overall, this is one of those episodes that I would show to somebody to explain what this series is capable of.
Review by Andrew BloomVIP 9BlockedParent2018-11-17T16:22:24Z
[8.8/10] Outstanding episode. This is a great example of the show balancing the “high school as horror” conceit with Buffy wishing she could know what her boyfriend was thinking and then getting the ability to read minds. It goes for both comedy, with the thoughts of Xander, Cordy, Oz, and even Wesley, for action, when Angel and Buffy fight the demons, for drama, when the Scoobies have to race to find the killer, for pathos, when Jonathan admits his pain, and for character growth and understanding, when Buffy realizes how much everyone is in pain.
There’s also a brilliant escalation with Buffy’s powers, going from a neat thing to a curse very quickly. And the way she goes from wanting to understand others’ thoughts to being desperate to block them out is the perfect “be careful what you wish for.” All along the way, there’s brilliant fakeouts and red herrings, from the sardonic newspaper editor just avoiding hassle for his bad review of Oz’s band, to the lunch lady being the ultimate culprit. And the dialogue, as always, is winning and hilarious, with Cordelia’s concern for the cheerleaders being the peak. This show was pitching its fastball right now, mastering shifts in story and tone and conversation so expertly it’s amazing.
Overall, this is one of those episodes that I would show to somebody to explain what this series is capable of.