"One Girl In All the World" Re-Watch: "Passion" & "Killed By Death"

 Buffy the Vampire Slayer

Angel steps up his terror campaign on Buffy and the gang. And then Buffy gets stuck in the hospital fighting of death... literally. Let's get into it!

"Passion"

Rupert Giles: "In my years as... Watcher... I've buried too many people... but Jenny was the first I've loved."

Buffy Summers: "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I couldn't kill him for you, for her, when I had the chance. I wasn't ready, but I think I finally am.

Angelus has begun toying with Buffy like he used to toy with his other victims. He is watching her while she sleeps, leaving drawings of her on her pillow. He's not limiting his stalkings to just Buffy. He's threatening Willow and Joyce, as well. Jenny Calendar is working to ingratiate herself back into the gang by attempting to translate the spell that will give Angelus his soul back. But Jenny finds herself in danger when Angelus catches wind of her plans.

Oh no...

Making the romantic lead of your series the main antagonist of your show's sophomore season is a ballsy move especially if you plan on him continuing on in the show. That was the predicament on "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" when they made Angel devolve into Angelus. I think we all wondered how far the show was going to take this. And with "Passion," we see that the show is going to go all the way when Angelus claims his first victim close to the gang. He brutally murders Jenny Calendar.

When you look back on what happens in this episode, it becomes very clear from the start that Jenny is destined to meet her maker. But, like all great episodes of television, you are hopeful that she'll somehow survive up until the moment Angelus snaps her neck, in one of the most memorable images from the series. 

Ever since it was revealed that Jenny was hiding her lineage from the gang, she's been on the outs. And listen, you know I am a hardcore Buffy apologist, but I do think that some this ostracizing is a little bit unfair. Jenny is working to get back into the gang's good graces. She's working on a computer program to translate the spell that will give Angel his soul back. She acquires an Orb of Thesulah from a local magic shop and the program works. Not only that, but while Buffy does tell her that she should keep feeling bad (savage), she tells Jenny that Giles is lonely and encourages her to make things right with him because loneliness is something she wouldn't wish on anyone. This leads Jenny to tell Giles that she loves him and they make plans to meet up later that night. I think it was at that moment that I knew Jenny was destined to die.

After Drusilla has a vision, Angelus shows up at the school, just as Jenny triumphs with the spell translation. I think this whole sequence really demonstrates how scary Angelus really is. The things he was doing earlier in the episode, which we'll get to, were unsettling but he really unleashes things here. I flinch every time he throws the orb against the wall even though I know it's going to happen. The chase through the school is straight out of a horror movie. Angelus is Ghostface and Jenny is one of his hapless victims. But again, you keep hoping that someone will show up at the last minute to save her right up until the moment that she's dead.

Angelus isn't done yet. He sets up a scene in Giles's apartment. It looks like Jenny has arrived early to jumpstart their romantic rendezvous. But we all know the truth. There is just this sick feeling in the pit of your stomach because you know what's going to happen. You know what Giles is going to find, but it doesn't soften the shock of her dead body, eyes still open, lying on Giles's bed. The acting in these scenes is so good. It really showed what a strong cast that this show had. The face acting here is unparalleled. From Giles when he finds Jenny, to Buffy and Willow when he calls them on the phone.

After telling Buffy she has to keep a level head about Angel all episode, it's Giles who succumbs to his passion and goes after Angelus, Spike and Drusilla. Buffy barely makes it to his rescue in time. Buffy probably could have killed Angelus there, but we have some season left so she rescues Giles. It's great to see the father/daughter bond these two have formed really blossom even though you know that it will get them into trouble eventually. Buffy may not have been ready to kill Angelus back in "Innocence," but she definitely is now. But no one is aware that a disk containing the translated spell has fallen between the desk in Jenny Calendar's office.

Even before Angelus kills Jenny, he's really ramped up the psychological warfare on Buffy and the gang. He's breaking into Buffy's room and watching her sleep and he's showing off his artistic skills in the creepiest ways. He's killing fish. He tells Joyce that he and Buffy had sex. The conversation that Buffy and Joyce have about Buffy losing her virginity feels really real. You don't expect to have a realistic mother/daughter conversation about sex on a show about vampires, but here we are. You go on a rollercoaster that ends with Buffy and Joyce seemingly closer than they have been, even though Buffy is lying to her left and right. You just know that house of cards is destined to tumble.

We get some key pieces of "Buffy" lore here. This is the first time see Willow performing witchcraft as she performs the disinvite spell on Buffy's home. We know that it won't be the last time. We learn that every Christmas Willow sneaks over to Xander's to watch "A Charlie Brown Christmas" and Xander performs the Snoopy dance. Cordelia gives the episode some much needed comic relief freaking out about Angel being in her car even though he shows no interest in terrorizing her.

There are a couple small moments that make you go "huh?" I love that the show thinks that they'd let a student teach a class. I know it can be difficult to find substitutes but that's not how any of this works. Xander can't not be a jackass and his whole "I hated Angel" before it was cool speech falls extremely flat. He hated Angel because he was jealous that Buffy was attracted to Angel and not him, not because he knew that this was going to happen. So, shut the fuck up dude. But overall, this is a tremendous episode of "Buffy" that continues to display that this show has really hit its stride.

Grade: A

"Killed By Death"

Xander Harris: "You don't know how to kill this thing?"

Buffy Summers: "I thought I might try violence."

Xander Harris: "Solid call."

There's a nasty flu going around and not even the Slayer is immune. Buffy ends up in the hospital after a nasty confrontation with Angelus leads to her passing out on patrol. Buffy hates hospitals after her cousin, Celia, died in one. While delirious with fever, Buffy sees a monster prowling the halls that the younger patients have called Death. Is this just a byproduct of illness or is literal Death prowling the halls of the hospital killing children?

Delirium.

This episode reminds me a lot of "Lifedeath" - Part 2. Much like "Remember It," "Passion" is a big episode of season two of "Buffy." And unless the next episode can match it, even if its enjoyable, it is going to feel a little bit like a let down. And "Killed By Death" is a fine monster of the week episode, but it feels like less because of how amazing "Passion" was.

I think that it's an interesting conceit. Buffy can fight against anything, but she can't fight against illness. Even the Slayer gets sick. It makes sense that Buffy would try to fight it. Angelus is out there. He's already killed someone important to the gang. She needs to be out there doing her job. The cold open shows that a Slayer at half strength is not going to do anyone any good because Angelus shows up and because she's sick he almost takes her out. Luckily, Buffy's friends are always there for her. I honestly think it would have been more impactful if it had been just a generic, run of the mill vampire that almost took Buffy out rather than Angelus. This feels like them just trying to remind the audience, Angelus is still out there and a threat. Guess what? We know.

Buffy is not a fan of hospitals. Relatable content. Her fear stems from the death of her cousin, Celia, who she was very close to. Buffy witnessed her dying so her freaking out is completely understandable. While delirious with fever, Buffy sees a tall, male figure with stringy hair, a bowler and face that looks like its disfigured going after a child. When she wakes up, she's not sure if what she saw was legit, or if it was a side effect of her fever, but she knows it's worth checking out. 

One of the things that I enjoy about this episode is that the gang doesn't make Buffy feel like she's going crazy. They know that this is the Hellmouth so they take her concerns seriously. Willow and Giles initially think that the monster is actually Dr Backer, who has been doing some shady shit but when he's killed by an invisible force that throws that red herring out the window. But, in an episode like this, you have to have a misdirect. It's part of the ABC's of writing a monster of the week episode.

I feel like this is a great episode for Cordelia. She works with Xander to distract the security guard (Stanford Blatch!) while Xander investigates Backer. She calls out his weird infatuation with Buffy. Xander tries to deflect saying he's just looking out for his friend. Big statement, bro. Even delirious with fever, Buffy could take care of herself without you. And it's all fine and good to watch your friends back but not so great when you are staring at her ass Which again is gross. Cordelia is the one who tells Buffy about Der Kinderstod. And her commentary is priceless. I want Cordelia to tell Buffy about the monsters and demons she faces every week from here on out.

Der Kinderstod, this week's baddie, is one of the more disturbing creatures that Buffy faces. The reveal that he has two long suckers that shoot out of his eyes was unexpected and extremely fucking gross. I feel like Der Kindestod is like the prototype for the Gentlemen in season four. Like, they tweaked Der Kindestod's design for the Gentlemen. What do you all think?

Overall, this is an extremely serviceable episode, but the entire time that I'm watching it, I just want to get back to the main plot with Angelus.

Grade: B

Next up, Buffy and Angelus get caught up in a Sunnydale High ghost story and Xander joins the swim team.

What did you all think? Do you agree that "Passions" is a classic "Buffy" episode? Did it make you fear Angel? Was "Killed By Death" kind of a let down? Let me know in the comments.