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Buffy the Vampire Slayer || 3x18 || Full Reaction (Patreon)

Published:
2020-11-05 23:32:52
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link: https://ws.onehub.com/files/8bye9uwz

3x18: "Earshot"

well hey hey 👀 bonus and early upload this week since a patron informed me that the fans that watched live had to wait a hell of a long time to actually get this episode... so I can't let history repeat itself 😳

anywaysss, holy shit this episode. so hilarious but also so heartbreaking... legit all over the place with it all but I loved every second of it

I did briefly touch on the subject matter of the episode, but I was NOT prepared for it so I wasn't quite sure what to say tbh. excited to hear what you all think, especially those that grew up in a pre-columbine world (and if those that live outside the US, if you had a different effect from this episode too)

lots of good discussion topics! 

only thing about uploading this early, since supernatural is airing later tonight, the edited version of this most likely won't be up until after im done with that episode, but I will try my best!! :)


hope y'all enjoy!! :D

Files

Comments

Aaron Thorpe

Well this is an extremely pleasant surprise! Thank you!

Shandler

Trump losing his mind and Alley giving us a surprise upload. This is a glorious day.

Lindsey Metcalfe

Nothing like a heartwarming school shooter plot to distract you from election anxeity.....

Jessie

😮 Alley! Thank you! 😭

Joel S

Alley, did you you're wonderful.

Jennifer Lawson

Oh my god, first time commenting here, but I'm just so excited to see a new episode come down so early. Thank you so much!

Collinson

Wow! bonus episode!! Thankyou so much!!

Flora Smith

EXCUSE ME MADAM!!! *runs to watch*

Cole Crouse

This episode was actually delayed months because it was scheduled to air the week after Columbine.

The Movie Guru

I was a Columbine survivor, so this episode has an interesting place in my heart. I will come back and add more to this comment after I watch the reaction. (My further comments, post reaction, are in the replies to this comment if you are interested)

Elisa H.

Woo hoo! I appear to be coming down with something so this will be something to help take my mind off being ill. Also I realize I used to get ill and think "huh, think I'm getting sick" and now is these times it's more "omg is it covid? What were the first symptoms again? Who have I been in contact with? Do I need to warn anyone? " and then spiral.

Allan

Not delayed in Canada....where I remember I had to be patient in discussing it in the Buffy boards!!

Mark Stout

Thank you sooooo much for the bonus upload this week! You’re the best.

Roger Lackman

Alley thank you so much. You didn't know it but you just made the end of a very stressful day so much better. I'm at a restaurants now but will watch this as soon as I get home. Again thank you so much.

Justin Jefferson

Yoooo the early drop nice i was sitting around like damn i wish i had something to watch and this drops ty ty you the best.

Tim St. Croix

Delayed on first airing because of Columbine. It was posted to the Internet very soon after, though. I think this was the first video I ever downloaded... with a 28.8k modem (which maxed out at 26.4k because I lived out in the boonies at the end of a long copper phone line.)

Roger Lackman
>>47194387

didn't Joss Whedon endorse fan's pirating it and say something like "bootleg the sucker"

Brittney

Thanks Alley, I had a stressful day and really needed this distraction. Not to sound dramatic but I'm grateful.

Allan
>>47194226

Back when it aired it was big news cuz of Columbine and us Canadian fans were super confused why we got it but we took it anyways. Also - not a spoiler but the season finale was also delayed in the US as well so feel free to react to that early too 😁😍

Megan

ngl i squealed when i saw u had uploaded...

Shandler
>>47194189

Wow, that’s rough. Sorry you had to go through something so horrific. Glad you’re with us to be part of this awesome community!

Tim Pierce

Holy crap is it Christmas? Early Buffy upload hype!

aeronitz

I LOVE that you surprised us with this! It's like something I'd do for my students....surprise them with extra recess time just for the Hell of it!

Eric Bushee

You sneaky little devil. I remember Columbine well, it was very shocking at the time and sadly now school shootings are commonplace. Although, mass shootings have almost disappeared since the pandemic has started, an interesting side effect.

Jeffrey

Wow! I was having a rough time waiting until Tuesday for this, but here it is!! Easily one of my favorite episodes. I grew up in a hunting family in Northern CA in the 70s/80s and had hunter safety courses as a child and we had rifles in the hallway closet the whole time, not even locked. I'm not a big fan of the obsession with ARs in this country: it's a whole level of gun fetish that I just don't understand, and honestly scares the shit out of me. Gun suicides are a huge problem in the States as well. It was nice to see this episode cover shootings and suicide. Not a very thought out comment, but I'm rushing to get into this reaction :)

Loves Bitca

Wow, I was excited for you to get to this one (mostly for so many great comic scenes) but I didn't expect you to get to it so soon after the last one.

timetot

I don't usually comment before watching but I wanted to say tysm for the bonus episode!! Earshot is one of my favorite eps so this was a very sweet birthday surprise for me. :)

Allan Cornett

A really nice surprise ...THANKS.

Paul Gibson

Fortunately school shootings in the UK are far more rare than the US nowadays but at the time the Dunblane massacre was still fresh in people's mind so this episode had an effect on us here too

Superfan Giovanni

Having to bluff Alley that it didn't air due to "you know, typical Buffy, violence at a highschool" was totally worth seeing her reaction to Joyce's 'Band Candy' reveal. Hilarious!

Alley Box
>>47196335

haha u really sold it tho. I for sure thought maybe a vamp came into the school or something and thats why they postponed it.. was not expecting THAT

Superfan Giovanni

Your love of Larry made me smile until my face hurt. Also green long sleeve daytime Angel is an underrated Angel.

Dave Miller
>>47194772

Not to be all "Um, actually.." but mass shootings continue at about the same rate they always have. School shootings are the ones that make the headlines, and obviously those have dropped precipitously.

Flora Smith

@Alley knowing the generation you are from, I’ve been very curious to see your reaction to this. I think it’s probably the best non arc ep of the show so far, the tones it juggles...it’s a ‘verse classic.

Mikhail Shevchenko

The scene in the library where Buffy reads each of their thoughts is one of my top moments in the series.

Ross Nolan

Great reaction to a great episode. On this side of the Atlantic (Ireland & UK) it wasn't delayed exactly or at least no more than the normal few weeks delay from the American broadcast.

Kelly Walker

Still crazy to me that this was supposed to air 7 days after Columbine.

aeronitz

My niece committed suicide 5 years ago at the age of 16. She hid her pain so well that no one (not even her best friend and sister) knew she was suffering. You never think suicide will hit your personal life until it does. And, then, it's too late. Being an educator, I am glad to see that we are taking trauma and depression so much more seriously in younger students.

Miricat

Loved your reaction to one of the best lines and callbacks in all of Buffy - "You had sex with Giles? On the hood of a police car?!! TWICE?!!"

Nikolai5

I have to be honest, as someone from the UK, the whole school shooter aspect of it didn't really resonate with me much at all. To me it is a fantastical plot that wouldn't happen in real life just like all the vampires and monsters in the show. But of course it is something that happens but that's just how I felt when I watched it the first time.

Calvin Allen

Definitely one of my favorite episodes of the show. There are laughs, tears, it's upsettingly relevant. And I find Xander's schtick endearing. Also one of the coolest Buffy moments so far. This school doesn't realize how lucky they are to have her.

Tim St. Croix
>>47197433

It sucks that she does so much for the school and is never acknowledged. I have a theory that it's part of the 'Hellmouth Effect' that keeps people from seeing what Buffy does for the school and community.

Corvacks

HI Ally, I was waiting until you got to this episode as I thought you would enjoy the fun parts and have deep thoughts about the more serious stuff. I loved how is you picked up on Cordelia saying exactly what she thinks.

Corvacks

Also I think the part where Giles walks into a free was not scripted but ad-libbed by Anthony Stewart Head.

Kelly Walker
>>47197140

To clarify, it was supposed to air on April 27, 1999. Another episode was also postponed later, but not for as long, which was a month after Columbine. This one didn’t air until two weeks before season 4.

Mary Kate

GOD BLESS YOU, I NEED THIS

timetot
>>47195702

Thank you! Now for actual thoughts: the clocktower scene is such an underrated Buffy hero moment. She saves the day - or really Jonathan's life, though she doesn't realize it until after - just by talking: sharing her own pain and the insights she gained over the course of the episode. Sure, Buffy kicks ass, but she also has these moments of empathy and wisdom that make her one of my favorite protagonists of all time. "You know I could've taken that by now... I'd rather do it this way."

SweetSummit
>>47197370

It HAS happened in the UK, just not recently (not for over 20 years).

Brandon Scott
>>47194189

I’m with others here in that I do wish you (or anyone) had been spared what was undoubtedly a horrific experience. Still, like others I’m sure, I am (just as a human being) so very grateful to be able to share this space with you.

Brandon Scott

Reading all theses comments, I’d be really interested to hear you (Ally) comment on the impact you seem to be able to have on those of us here who find respite in taking time out to watch an episode of Buffy with you.

Val

I totally forgot about the Joyce/Giles reveal for Buffy until we got to that scene,so I was so anticipating Alley's reaction, and it was better than expected. I rewound it and had to play it again! Also loved the reaction to Jonathan being the "shooter." I still have a problem with the rifle though being a weapon to do yourself in, (I know it plays well for the scene) but it looks like it would be cumbersome to shoot yourself with. It cracks me up the giant RAT POISON lettering on the box :) And also there is one shot of the stunt lunch lady fighting Buffy, she drops about 100 pounds. Worse stunt double ever. :)

Rachel Espiritu
>>47194387

Yes, but bootlegging TV shows was a good deal more difficult in 1999. The pirates didn't even have a bay yet!

UTU49
>>47197358

I was going to say that too. "Best. Callback. Ever." I wonder if Giles and Joyce had a crowd of people watching. Maybe someone filmed them, and Giles or Joyce are one day going to have to see the footage. Excuse me. I have to go write some fan fiction.

Tim St. Croix
>>47194387

And, since most people were on phone line modems back then, it took more than a day to download one hour-long show. My gigabit connection can do it in about a 30 seconds these days... not that I do that, of course. ;-)

UTU49
>>47195702

"It was nice to be able to help someone in a non-slaying capacity... "

UTU49
>>47196584

It's not unusual on this show for the tertiary characters to get more character development than the protagonists on other shows.

UTU49

2 thoughts. I love this episode. So funny and such a nice depiction of Buffy having a growth experience. Secondly, I think they totally made the right decision to not air this immediately after Columbine. In general I think this episode has a constructive take on school violence, but I think the comedic elements of this episode would have felt disrespectful when juxtaposed with such a large and recent school shooting.

Ari is my Cat

I love this episode but to me the best part is Giles walking into the tree at the end...

Andrew Pulrang

It’s interesting that on the show they were already saying that school shootings were a sadly familiar thing. I don’t remember specifically, but I do recall that at the time Columbine was seen as a severe escalation, not as an entirely new thing. In retrospect Columbine seems like the start of it, but it wasn’t quite that.

Mark Zima

As for the thing about Buffy not being able to hear the thoughts of Angel because he is a vampire, I have a hypothesis that this episode inspired Charlaine Harris to create the character of Sookie Stackhouse, who is a protagonist who can hear the thoughts of humans but not the thoughts of vampires. I think the first Sookie Stackhouse novel was published about 3 years or so after this episode aired. Those novels later became the TV series "True Blood".

Mary Kate

OK I have watched the reaction now. Yeah it's a weirdly incongruent episode, funny throughout and then super serious talk of suicide. I love it, though, I can remember it really helping me in high school: "everyone is ignoring your pain because they're too busy dealing with their own." So good.

Mark Zima

Did anyone notice how matter-of-factly the students all took seeing Buffy doing her spectacular ascent up to the top of the tower where Jonathan was? I think this correlates to how comfortable Willow was to float her pencil out in the open on campus. The students of Sunnydale High don't react as stereotypical students would be expected to react to unusual events... after all, their school newspaper has an obits section (as Oz made reference to)! They clearly are somewhat used to some unusual goings-on.

Collinson

I love this episode. It deals with a heavy subject but still manages humour and feelings. I love the mind reading especially Xander and “YOU HAD SEX WITH GILES!!” As for non US experience we only really had one big school shooting in the UK in Scotland the Dunblane massacre 1996 where a 43 year old man not a school kid went into a school and shot 16 very young children and one teacher. This led to the banning of firearms which was probably easier in the UK as not many were legal anyway and there wasn’t much of a gun culture to begin with.

kemperor .

Ah, what a nice surprise to get an extra reaction this week, I was not expecting that. Yes, this is a very solid episode, and I think it really highlights how strong this show can be by combining comedy and serious subject matter and doing both well. I am also looking forward to your in depth discussion at the end of the season. Almost there!

Bodertz
>>47200346

I can imagine it was easier for Jonathan to get his hands on that type of gun than a handgun. Hunting is legal, unfortunately. And going up to the tower for privacy also makes sense. It's a bit contrived, I'll admit.

matt
>>47197140

Just goes to show you how in tune Joss was with the social direction of the country.

Nica Marie

Because of timing, we always mention Columbine with this episode. But, let's not forget that Jonathan with a rifle in the clock tower references the 1966 mass shooting at the University of Texas at Austin.

matt
>>47200346

The rifle thing always bothered me, too. I ended up with my own explanation being that it was the only thing Johathan could get ahold of. It was probably sitting in his parents closet.

matt
>>47202115

There were a lot of shootings, but they were mostly one-on-one incidents. Columbine was the first mass school shooting.

Adthay
>>47203018

"If we work hard, train hard and not have so many mysterious deaths this could be our year!"

Jim Greer

I live in Australia , thankfully we don't have the ridiculous gun culture that America does. the Port Arthur shooting in 1996 when 35 people were murdered , forced the government to ban rapid fire rifles.

Koh_Kae

Right before the episode was supposed to air, there was a disclaimer that due to what was gonna happen in the episode, it was postponed to a later time. That was a big disappointment but I can see why they pulled it. Sarah was actually pretty upset about it being delayed as she had pushed for it to be released on schedule because she thought it would help people that were affected by Columbine. It’s one of her favorite episodes. There is actually a very recent article I read somewhere online that talked about this episode. Back in the day, we never really knew what anyone’s thinking or feeling, so that tends to make us feel more lonely and isolated. Compared to today when all everyone is doing is posting on social media about how they feel or what they’re doing so now we’re technically closer in a way and less alone. As we’ve seen the past…ahemmm 4 years, we know what of people are thinking and it all just becomes too overwhelming.

Nate
>>47200346

I rewound that part too, Alleys reaction was great. I alway assumed that it was just a gun that his family had. I don't live in a place with lots of gun owners so not sure what is typical to own though.

Rachel Espiritu

This isn't an angle that gets discussed a lot, but as the reaction community's resident Faith stan, I can't help myself. I really feel like we missed out by not having Faith in this episode, and more than that, I feel like this episode also explains (in a very sad way) so much of how Faith got to where she is. It's true- everyone in Faith's life this year has been too busy thinking about themselves to spare a thought for her. Buffy's too caught up on Angel. Willow's all jealous of Buffy and Faith's slayer connection. Xander's more concerned with his self-esteem. Giles really only thinks of Buffy as his own. And Wesley is... well, he's Wesley. And in my mind, it's an explanation, but it's not an excuse. It's true that other people are too focused on their own lives to think of everyone around them, but when someone in your circle is clearly self-destructing, I really do believe people bear some responsibility to step in, especially the adults in her life. I'll at least give Xander some credit for trying, even if it was too little too late. Faith's a 17 year old orphan living alone in a shitty motel, her mother died recently, her sex life has already been more colorful than most people twice her age, her first watcher was brutally tortured and murdered right in front of her, she was targeted by Kakistos, targeted by Mr Trick, outright hated by Willow, betrayed by Gwen Post, betrayed by Wesley, betrayed by Buffy and Angel... like, fuck. Buffy said to Faith in the last episode- "I never knew you had so much rage in you." How could you not know? How could any of them not see it, when it's been written plain as day on her face? When Faith lashes out at Buffy, she doesn't focus on Buffy being prettier or more popular or whatever. The first thing she says is, "You get the watcher, you get the mom, you get the little Scooby gang." That's all Faith wanted- family and friends. So when Buffy reiterates that logic to Jonathan, it honestly kind of upsets me. I mean, yeah, Buffy and Jonathan barely know each other, I can understand not giving him much thought. You can't stop and think about everybody all the time. But I'd like to think people would step up at least for the people close to them when it matters most. And especially for teenagers, they're not fully mature and self-sufficient yet, it's still up to the adults in their lives to watch over and provide for them. It would have taken *so little* to save Faith from going down this road, but no one noticed until it was too late. I wish Buffy could have heard all that. ...and now cue all the responses where everyone tells me that Faith is evil, pure evil, and evil is as evil does. Evil evil evil.

Steveo

Nice surprise upload!

Blain H Granado

Underrated episode. Buffy's speech, the Jane Espenson comedy, the deep themes. It all works for me. Also, A+ for the GO FISH hate lol

Jeffrey
>>47197144

One of my childhood friends killed himself with a gun while on his grandmother's lawn (back in the 70s when I was a kid). It's not something you ever forget or really get over. I've heard that depression is much worse during these days of social media, with many young girls cutting. I really hope that enough resources is being given to this problem (but I doubt it).

Nate

A great episode, it is dark and depressing but has loads of humour throughout. So glad to have an extra reaction, it's been a pretty pants week for me so i'm glad for the distraction. I love seeing Larry again, his grandma setting him up with guys is so cute. Seeing Jonathan up in that clock tower is a hard scene for me to watch, I can relate. So glad we get the great scene with xander and the dinner lady afterwards. I have no idea if it was delayed in the UK as well, 8 year old me hadn't started watching yet.

Collinson

Joss Whedon is a huge Shakespeare fan so expect a few references here and there.

Jeffrey

Welcome to the writing of Jane Espenson. Before this she wrote Band Candy and Gingerbread, and becomes an integral part of the Buffyverse. Look her up on IMDB: she has had an amazing career.

FernWithy

So, someone who grew up in the pre-Columbine world (I was in my 20s in the 90s): True fact: One of my classmates had his yearbook picture taken with his hunting rifle, with the quote "Go ahead, make my day." There had been smaller school shootings leading up to it, as Oz mentions ("It's bordering on trendy"), but of course, Columbine was a the point that marked it as being something other than random occurrences. People were staring at the television in utter horror that whole day. (Which had the unfortunate side effect of saying, "Hey, if you want attention...") So there was good reason to not have an episode on that treated it like a side plot air that week (though one of the cast members--maybe SMG?--thought it could have been a way to talk about things that wasn't as fraught. But in terms of the pre-Columbine world, no, we didn't think nearly as much about guns in school. My classmate was not an outlier. The first day of hunting season was an unofficial holiday, with half the class playing hooky. (And not even getting in trouble if they ended in the paper with a picture of the first deer of the season.) People had gun racks on their cars and trucks, and sometimes there were weapons in there. People also were known to carry jackknives in their purses, and another friend had a switchblade, which was illegal, but no one knew about it because there was no checking. (She mostly used it for putting cream cheese on bagels, she just liked the look.) There was definitely less worry about what kids might be thinking or feeling. Kids mouthing off about how much they hated the place and how they were going to get back at everyone someday was more or less shrugged off as letting off steam; now, I'd guess that would send up red flags. Okay, the episode. I've always liked it. The humor, when it's used, is on point ("On the hood of a POLICE CAR??? TWICE???") and the serious stuff comes off as very realistic. I like they way they used Jonathan. They've spent two seasons having him in the background, and we're used to it, like, "Oh, yeah, part of Joss's stable of background players, whatever," and it uses that to mislead us, because of course, we just assume he's there for comic relief... just like he perceives the world to assume about him. I've seen Buffy get some flak for not being more understanding of Jonathan, but honestly, for me, when I'm depressed, remembering that the rest of the world exists and has its own problems helps. Maybe it's just me, and it's probably not great for therapy, but Buffy's not a therapist; she's just trying to stop him in the moment.

Egan Bursk

Thank you for the bonus episode! It was so good.

Keenan White

Can you believe that this episode almost never made it to television at all, that’s the kind of impact that the Columbine shooting had on us all, and if I remember correctly, this episode actually didn’t air until sometime during season 4’s run, it was presented as a very special episode of the show.

Shawn Young

It may have been different in different parts of the world but here in Ontario Canada it did air in order with the rest of season three.

KT
>>47206548

You pretty much word for word said what I was thinking of commenting while watching the episode. Yeah the thing with Columbine was the media attention, and it was the advent of the internet. There were school shootings before, but the killers at Columbine themselves became famous. Video and audio of the shooting was recorded, and went the 1999 version of viral. The cultural attitude shifted to "pick on someone too much and they might snap and shoot up the school" even though that was NOT the case with Columbine. So I'm glad that Jonathan turned out not to be the killer, because that would have just fed into that false narrative (a lot of post-Columbine tv shows made the mistake of glorifying the killers or making the killing seem cool or justified in some way). It's like with Nazis, make them pathetic imbeciles in fiction and people won't want to emulate them as much as if you made them tragic or scary.

KT
>>47197140

Ahh that's right it's even more of a coincidence, being a WEEK after Columbine.

KT

I wonder if maybe Faith and the Mayor weren't in this episode because it was postponed, and they didn't wanna waste season-arc content on an episode people weren't gonna see before the finale.

ModernArtery .

Holy hell early Buffy upload, this is fantastic news

Steve Quast

Wow, another Buffy upload already? I thought Christmas was NEXT month!

Vincent Valentin

this episode encapsulates everything i love about this show. the real life issues+ the humor+ the drama.

KT

All of Jonathan's previous appearances in the series: 2x4: Impata tries to make out with him ("ur hands are kinda... rough") 2×5: brings Cordelia the wrong cappuccino ("Cinnamon chocolate half-caf, non-fat... extra foam!")  2×10: is momentarily held at knife-point by the Order of Taraka cop lady ("was that a demonstration?") 2x12: is an egg possessee ("SOMEBODYPLEASEHELPMEHELP– I'm fine. I slipped.") 2x17: is yelled at by Xander for trying to check out some books from the school library ("hey did you say that was–" *everyone has left* "...hello?") 2x19: gets his head held under ice water by the swim team ("why don't you mind your own business, I can handle this myself without your help") and gets interrogated by Willow ("I snuck in after practice and peed in the pool.") 3x2: Buffy yells at him for munching on chips and dip while all her friends ganged up on her ("no thanks. I'm good.") 3x5: eats the cupcake Buffy gave him but doesn't vote for her ("Cordelia gave me 6 bucks. That can buy a *lot* of cupcakes") 3x9: Harmony offers him up as a potential date for Cordelia (*sips his Big Gulp awkwardly*)

The Movie Guru
>>47194189

So, now I've watched the reaction, and I have been sitting here trying to figure out what to say. Thank you for those who commented on this, making me feel like I can say something in a safe space. Concerning the episode, Buffy was and is my comfort show. I just remember after the events of April 20th, that I NEEDED some normalcy and some comfort, and I was so incredibly sad that the show I depended on for that was not being shown the week following one of my worst days of my life. I read the article in the Denver Post about its postponement and the fact that it ever being aired was up for debate, but there were no details as to why, other than depictions of school violence relating to recent events. I remember thinking, "Buffy always has high school violence, it's kind of the plot of the show 🤣, but if it's being pulled is probably more grounded in reality than normal". I for one, am very glad that they postponed it. I understand that Sarah Michelle Gellar wanted it aired to help with the discussion, and I think that the episode is perfect for that, but speaking personally, and for some of my fellow students, we were no where near ready to talk in general, or experience that episode after just one week. It finally aired a week or two before the premiere of season 4. I remember being kind of terrified to watch it, because I didn't know what was coming and I was still a mess, dealing with everything. So, my mom had a Buffy party. My parents, brother, grandparents, uncles, aunts, and cousins all got together to watch it with me. I thought a lot about how lucky I was to have such a supportive family. Most of them had never seen an episode, they just wanted to be there for me. After watching it, I was amazed, and it remains one of my all time favorite episodes of the show. In fact, I tend to watch it around or on April 20th every year. I was amazed because it's like it was written for me and all of the others that lived through that day, even though I know that's impossible. SMG was right, it got so many of us fans talking and relating, and I think that it was great timing because a couple of people I know had been contemplating suicide because they couldn't cope with what they experienced. So, they were finally able to talk about what happened and connect the context to how they were feeling. This episode has aged so well! It's still sadly relevant, but explores the concepts of the high schoolers mind and state of being better than 99% of other media, in a beautifully handled and tasteful way. Plus, the lunch lady twist at the end gave the pallet cleansing and much needed air of levity that made this episode very easy to digest. The episode is a beautiful thing! I have written papers on it to aquire my film degree, and it made and continues to make something that will always be painful for me, that much easier to handle. Plus, I've always said that Buffy and I have something in common. We both went to high school on hellmouths. Thank you for reading!

Steve Quast

If it ever needs to be done, I will gladly kiss Eliza Dushku for the greater good.

Loves Bitca

I love that with all the red herrings and false leads, it ended up being the very first thing suggested offhandedly by Xander and not taken seriously. The lunch lady with the mulligan stew. I had really hoped that Alley would have caught the headline "Apathy on the rise. No one cares".

Dave Ford

HI - thanks so much for posting this - it's really been nice to have something familiar, and fun, to act as a bit of stress relief. I was watching Buffy contemporaneously - albeit via postage-stamp sized videos downloaded over a 56kbs modem from USENET newsgroups the day after they aired. I honestly don't remember the pushing back of this episode, though obviously knew about it afterwards. As Cordy an Oz allude, school shootings in the US were already "bordering on trendy" - the coincidence with Columbine was just that. As I understand it, Sarah Michelle Gellar worked hard to persuade the network to air this episode - it would have probably been permanently canned otherwise.

Mark Zima

Bless you Alley, for giving us an extra Buffy episode this week. For me, it turned a day that had been "meh" into a day that was "oh boy!"

Ashtara Levin

I am 1.37 minutes into your video - Alley, you are the best Patreon EVER!

Vicky N

What a great surprise!

Ashtara Levin
>>47200346

It also plays a hand in pushing the "You're an Idiot" aspect of his choice to kill himelf, as well as why Buffy was able to pull him away from it. One of my professors in college used to talk about being resident in a hospital as a psychiatrist and learning to tell who of the attempted suicides that came in was okay to release. meaning who was absolutely determined to try again. Had Jonathan gone to the trouble of obtaining a gun, instead of something that might have been lying around, I suspect Buffy wouldn't have been able to "pull him off the ledge"

Stewart Denew

Some harsh content & 100% understandable why it was originally cancelled, but a masterful example of how to juxtapose the serious stuff with some really hilarious moments. Love the echo effect with Cordelia, not just funny but also really shows how comfortable she is with her friends that she's willing to be completely honest with them. The whole sex with Giles things isn't just funny in itself but the way it escalates too.. "on the hood of a police car?!....TWICE?!" & then calling back to that to end on a lighter note with a well done bit of classic physical comedy. Xander finding the lunch lady just because he was distracted by food seems like a really blatant allusion to the whole "Scooby Gang" thing.

Stewart Denew
>>47202528

It's a series that's influenced a lot of things since it came out to be honest :) Jim Butcher's clearly taken elements of it into the Dresden Files, complete with outright references & it even has Spike (James Marsters) reading the audiobooks.

Mark Zima

Buffy: "No mouth means no teeth... unless they have them somewhere else." Is that a vagina dentata joke?

Eric Haefele

I just wanted to thank you for the pleasant surprise early reaction. An unexpected bright spot in my day. Thank you

Mark Zima
>>47202528

I listen to those Dresden Files audiobooks; Marsters does a great job with them.

David Ingracia III

Wow. I'm calling it now. Your spn reaction will probably be at least an hour

Dave Ford
>>47194387

They had usenet, which worked fine - the difficulty was bandwidth - I remember download videos that were, maybe, 30-50Mb in size - they were barely postage stamp sized - but the audio was good enough to hear Joss's script.

Dave Ford
>>47197370

Dunblane was a primary school, and it was fairly unique, and it wasn't one of the students committing the crime. It certainly wasn't the familiar occurrence that Oz and Cordy describe though.

Dave Ford
>>47197433

It's hard to know, but you've got to figure that Oz's comment about always turning to the obituaries section in the school newspaper first isn't sarcasm.

Dave Ford
>>47202115

First mass school shooting? Sadly, no. "The silicon chip inside her head / Gets switched to overload / And nobody's gonna go to school today / She's going to make them stay at home."

Dave Ford
>>47203339

Banning of handguns. Rifles and shotguns are still accessible to those who can obtain a firearms license.

Alexis Cardarella

Isn’t it crazy how some people don’t have an internal monologue in real life? This episode is one of my favorites. The amazing one liners are off the chart. No, I didn’t know this episode didn’t air when it was supposed to as the show originally aired. I started watching them in ‘08. But wow, yeah, I remember finding out a few years later. This episode and your reaction had me balling. Thank you for the nice surprise! 💓

Douglas

Thanks for the bonus upload, I needed it after watching Supernatural.

Jon Freezin-Rain

It did air in the season. It was schedules earlier and pushed to near the end for the reasons mentioned. Burt it was a s3 episode Columbine was 4/20/99, this aired 9/13/99

CrookedCat
>>47202115

Wasn't it basically because Columbine happened in real time and it just kept coming? The tv-stations could film the images live as the massacre was happening, it was deadly for a school shooting, there were so many rumors and stuff going around, the boys made the basement tapes and wrote diaries, the shot a fictional film at the school with guns, it was just at the beginning of the internet etc etc. Just a lot of stuff that could keep the media going for a long long time (and then keep going with the famous documentary, the computer games, the copycats etc).

CrookedCat

One of the best episodes of season 3! I love how it goes from being so extreeeemely funny to being so so serious. And I love Jonathan, he is one of the best minor characters. Now, being a Swede hearing you are almost numb to school shooting, like I get it, but oh it is so sad. We had a school attack a few years ago (a guy killed three people with a sword) but that’s the only one. And I remember when Sandy Hook happened and everybody was like: if this doesn’t change the US opinion on guns nothing will. And it didn’t… And I know it’s not that easy but like… I’m sorry it is so so so fucked up that guns can still be legal when ACTUAL CHILDREN are killed in this way and honestly no “gun regulations” can make up for it at this point.

Valkyrie

My favourite quote this episode: "Hi Mr Beach, I was just wondering were you planning on killing a bunch of people tomorrow. Oh, it's for the yearbook."

Kirby

OMG, Yay! One of my fave episodes and I wasn't expecting it so soon. You're the best Alley. Should have checked my email yesterday afternoon. Edited to add: That scene between Buffy and Jonathan is beautifully written and acted.

Holy Stregas

This episode managed to age both really well and terribly for the exact same reasons.

Mark Zima
>>47216986

The mythology of it is quite old, though. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagina_dentata

Graeme McCutcheon

Great reaction to such a great episode. I love the fact that Xander calls it pretty much straight away when Buffy is telling them what happened prior to her collapsing. At the risk of leading the witness, I wonder if this will have any effect on your views on "The Zeppo". Or, to flip it round, I wonder if Buffy fans like that episode more having seen this one. It's a nice complement, very much running with the idea that your crisis is someone else's background noise.

Kirby
>>47204581

Faith's been busy thinking about herself, too. There comes a certain point in a person's life when they grow up and take responsibility for their own actions. It's not Buffy's or any one else's fault that Faith turned to evil, which she did when she joined forces with the Mayor. If Buffy and Angel betrayed Faith, it was because she betrayed them first. Don't get me wrong, I like Faith and I have more to say, but I don't want to get into spoiler territory. “You have a choice. You don't have a good choice, but you have a choice!”

Shashank

I really connect with the theme of everyone’s personal suffering, that feels like it isolates us from others, actually being the thing that we share in common with others. Beautiful idea that has the advantage of also being true imo. It reminds me a lot of one of my fav Buddhist parables for anyone interested: https://www.patheos.com/blogs/americanbuddhist/2016/11/the-buddhist-parable-of-the-mustard-seed-grief-loss-and-heartbreak.html Finally came out of my 3 day long catatonic anxiety to watch this, thanks a lot for uploading early! Looking forward to your season review thoughts on it.

zerofk

"Does [Angel] just not think?" Yep, that's my headcanon now. Xander kinda saved the day. Again.

Heather Macdonald

Honestly, I think it went way over my head when I first saw this episode. I did not watch it when it originally aired because I was to young so I think I was about 11 or 12 then, but that was in 2003 Scotland and I'm not sure if I'd ever heard of any school shootings, though I'm sure there must have been some UK ones prior to that time. I do not remember how I reacted to Jonathan, but as I grew older watching the episode over again (I have re watched Buffy a lot of times) it resonated with me a lot more.

Heather Macdonald
>>47251162

Edit- I was curious so I checked, the last school shooting in scotland was in 1996, after which hand guns were banned. So I would have been 4. And apparently there have been none since.

Collinson
>>47251162

Side note on that for you Andy Murray went to that school and was in class when that shooting happened. For non Brits and non Tennis fans he’s a top ranked tennis player.

Bisibia
>>47247872

Xander is really good at being accidentally useful, but pretty bad at being intentionally useful.

TaraFromTerra

You made my day by uploading early! Thank youuu.

Valkyrie
>>47251162

yeah Dunblane was the only thing we needed to wipe guns off the map in Scotland. Horrible it had to happen in the first place, those poor kids.

R J Walker (FumblesMcStupid)
>>47203339

True, but my dad immediately had to chain his shot gun to the wall and no ammunition was allowed in the house (not that there ever was any, it was just his dad's that he'd used as a kid). tbh gun culture isn't the same in the UK but you CAN still get them if you REALLY want to.

R J Walker (FumblesMcStupid)
>>47204581

I'm not exactly going to disagree with you because I think it was very obvious that she needed help and they tried a bit but not enough. Really, though I love him dearly, Giles was the one who should have done it. His problem in general is that his life has always revolved around Buffy (to the cost of himself and others at times). Buffy should also have understood more as she's the only one who is a slayer and knows how isolated that makes you. However, in Buffy's defence Angel came back the next episode so she was a bit preoccupied lol One of her flaws is becoming a tad obsessed with her relationships and being unable to think about any body else's feelings when her's are all over the place (understandable, but she does it quite a bit). And in defence of Giles he's pretty soon dealing with the return of Angel as well so I don't think he's in a good place emotionally either. Much like with Faith these aren't excuses but they are reasons. The kids aren't responsible at all, it's great that Xander even tries. Wesley can't even deal with the Buffy+Giles combo, he sure can't deal with Faith and ends up really cocking it up. I think it WAS avoidable but I can also see why it happened like it did. It was also Faith's choice, and choice is important. I can see why she did it, but she can't be excused either.

Flora Smith
>>47210814

???? They didn’t know it was going to be postponed when it was being written and filmed. It would’ve been in the can for a month or so before the event that got it postponed happened

Loves Bitca

I LOVE Buffy's speech to Jonathon. It's amazing because she's brutally honest. No "I do understand and care about you" Just the honesty that was needed "We're not friends. I don't know you" and explaining how that is just that we all have our own stuff. And I honestly didn't understand that before then. I was very much like Jonathon in High School, and didn't understand that the people that picked on me, or especially that ignored me, were ALL actually going through their own stuff. Which kind of helps with having Larry (the other Larry) back in this episode. That he's a pretty great guy now that he's out and not pretending.

Jamie Morgan

What the heckity, we get more already!?? Thank you for helping a very stressful time be a little less stressful :)

KT
>>47212033

It was fun to make! What a beautiful little background story that you don't even really realize you were witnessing until this episode. A dozen or so 5 second long glimpses into Jonathan's life paints a pretty clear picture of how he got to this place.

Ryan Powers

My cousin's kid (not sure what that makes us) was in school for the Parkland shooting. While not physically hurt, she'll never be the same.

Chris Hanley

The irony of Xander being unwitigly right about the lunch lady in an offhanded joke haha

Dan H

Reactions to reaction: You ignore that Freddie might be a band kid AND a theater kid, because that was real, at least in the 90s. IRL, the fire alarm thing is a terrible idea albeit a natural instinct. Indeed, in one of the more recent prominent incidents it was a tactic to create target density. Trainers will actually tell you to be skeptical of a fire alarm if you hear one in a suspected attack. The More You Know dot gif. I think the true beauty of this episode isn't just that Jonathan was a red herring, it's that Buffy's telepathy was so topical and on point as the basis for talking him down from suicide.

Jon Freezin-Rain
>>47226613

My first watch was in the broadcast in 1999 so claiming clear recall would be questionable. Especially considering all the re watches over the years. After the post I thought Sept wouldn't be the end of a season but the beginning of one. Open keyboard insert virtual foot? Looks like your right.....🤦‍♂️

Kirsten (Heavenli24)

I don’t think I’ve commented on your Patreon so far, but I found your Buffy reactions last month and I’m loving them :). It’s really cool to see a fellow SPN fan also reacting to Buffy, as Buffy was my first fandom way back in the late 90s and it still holds a special place in my heart. I do love this episode - Season 3 didn’t air here in the UK until around September 1999 and I believe it was all aired in order, so I first saw this episode sometime around November 1999, about 7 months after Columbine. I remember watching the Columbine shooting live as it happened on the news here…I was 15 then and even though it’s been almost 22 years, I can still see the images of the school in my head now - it left a big impact on me because it was the first real exposure I’d had to US school shootings. I also studied abroad in the US in 2003 and one of the friends I met there was from Colorado - her cousin had been a student at Columbine High in 1999 and was actually trapped inside the school during the shooting.

John Kress

I love how everything Cordelia thinks, she says right afterwards.

KT
>>47210814

But they could have easily edited that stuff out in the meantime. I mean, they edited some stuff into this ep, like I'm pretty sure the "borderline trendy" scene was filmed later. Many of the episodes Faith and/or the Mayor have been in, theyre only in one scene. I can picture them removing a Faith/Mayor scene to make this ep a bit more self-contained. I mean, it's not really very important whether that was the case or not, I don't think this episode needed Faith or the Mayor. It's just a theory.

Phoenix Dawn

I am so glad you picked up on Othello! You are one of my fave Buffy reactors of all time!

Phoenix Dawn
>>47338066

Yes! She does not filter but she doesn’t deceive either. She is not fake, so she says exactly what she thinks.

Robert Westlund

FYI - Clea DuVall, the invisible girl in Out of Mind, Out of Sight, just made her directorial debut with Hulu's "Happiest Season," an LGBTQ+ friendly holiday show starring Kristen Stewart and Mackenzie Davis. Could be good or bad. We'll see.

Fasda

Ack I didn't realize you already put this out

Fasda
>>47202528

@Stewart Jim butcher actually describes the series as what if Phillip Marllow stared in Buffy the Vampire slayer

Fasda
>>47227698

Part of the problem is that it's rare. I mean it doesn't feel that way but it is. Firearm homicide of children is about as common as cancer deaths 1800 a year (suicides are 1100). And almost all of them aren't mass shootings with crime and domestic violence being more responsible. And that's out 75 million kids 18 and under. Yes 1 is too many but this now leads to Problem 2 the political party that wants gun control is fairly incompetent, so people may be horrified by the deaths and there may be very popular ideas about controlling guns, but they'll never get them passed. And even if they did get very strong laws passed, the laws will be declared unconstitutional because of the next problem 3 the US constitution is a document written in the 18th century. The men who wrote it were afraid of a strong military that could overthrow the republic. So the 2nd amendment has very broad rights to firearms for people who would be apart of militias. Ro change this you would need 3/4 of the states to agree and that isn't going to happen. Because more than that agree that guns are more important then lives

Andreas

I like that Oz is reffering to Decartes most famous quote "cogito, ergo sum".

Sandy S.

So, confession: I showed this episode to a client to hopefully help that person feel less alone, which led to great discussion. It was a special set of circumstances and I put a lot of thought into it before I did but it worked in the setting I was in.

Sandy S.

Also...love that you put the Giles mug next to your Giles pop. lol