Lie to Me - Part 4

The truth is rarely pure and never simple – Oscar Wilde

Previously on Lie To Me, Buffy follows Ford to the club. Ford is using her as bait to bring vampires down upon them so they can be turned. Diego locks them in with no way out. They are sitting ducks for the mob about to descend.

Chantarelle and Diego don’t understand why Buffy is so worked up. They will ascend to a new level of awareness as vampires. This is a beautiful day! Can’t you see? They have no clue what’s in store. Buffy begs Ford to let them go. He may have options, but his friends will not pass go, will not collect life everlasting. Besides, becoming a vampire is not what it’s cracked up to be. A demon sets up shop in your old house. It walks and talks and remembers your life but it's not you.

His friends don’t deserve to die. Maybe not. But Ford is dying. He has a cluster of brain tumors so excruciating he vomits from the pain. In six months his mind will be liquefied. He won’t die that way. Buffy sympathizes, but mass murder is not allowed on her watch. He has a choice, a crappy one, but a choice. His friends don’t. They’re fiend fodder. Ford almost capitulates then whacks Buffy over the head with a crowbar. Sunset is upon them.

Spike and his crew burst in. Spike falls upon Chantarelle while his men spread out and feed. Buffy wrenches the crowbar from Ford’s grip and slams him into a pillar, knocking him unconscious. Drusilla floats in behind the rest of the merry band and observes the party from the balcony. Armed with her new knowledge, Buffy leaps up next to Dru. She points a stake at Dru’s heart and shouts at Spike.

Stricken, Spike releases Chantarelle and orders his men to fall back. Buffy demands they let everyone go or Dru fits in an ashtray. Oh, the poetry. All the believers race out the door unchallenged. With Dru as her shield, Buffy edges over until she’s near enough to thrust Dru at Spike, dart through the opening, and slam it shut behind her. Spike glares at the door. Where’s the doorknob?

Outside, Angel, Xander and Willow arrive to tend the wounded. Buffy explains the situation and recommends they wait till later to come back. Come back for what? She looks at the closed door. The body. Inside Ford wakes to find Spike and company locked in. No Buffy. No one to feed on. Except him. Ford insists he lived up to his end of the bargain. Where’s his reward?

Much later, at Ford’s gravesite, Buffy doesn’t know what to say, what to think. So much simpler if she could hate Ford. But he was just a kid afraid to die. The truth is a painful reminder how fragile the line between good and evil can be. At her side, Giles agrees. Buffy fears the more she knows, the more confused she is. How do you know who to love, who to hate…who to trust? It’s called growing up, Giles tell her.

Does it get easier? Ford - now a vampire - erupts from the ground at their feet. Buffy stakes him without so much as a glance. You mean life? Giles asks. What would she have him say? Buffy thinks a moment. Lie to me. As they stroll away, Giles weaves a fairytale where good guys are always good, bad guys are always bad, and no one ever dies. Buffy hesitates. With affection, she mutters, Liar.

Let’s take a look at Ford’s GMCD. His goal: become a vampire (external) and escape the tenuous nature of life (internal). Why? He’s dying from a debilitating disease (external) and he’s terrified to die that way (internal). What’s standing in his way? Buffy. Not just the slayer (external) but an old friend whom he remembers with fondness (internal). How does it end? Disastrously. Buffy always gets her man (external), but she can’t hate him - which would have made Ford’s betrayal easier on both of them (internal).

Two prominent writing elements - theme and foreshadowing – headline a simple premise: a childhood pal re-emerges and gives Buffy the chance to experience friendship unfettered by her superhero status.

The thematic question – Is honesty the best policy? - reverberates through every major character. First, Buffy catches Angel in a lie. Her conjecture he’s seeing Drusilla is refuted, but the truth proves worse: Dru is a vampire of his own making. A gently bred girl he menaced and dehumanized before siring. How do you love a man who’s done such a depraved thing? The reality of Angel’s past begins to seep into their present, suggesting a less than propitious future.

Next, Ford hides his knowledge of her identity. Not a lie precisely. But it demonstrates Ford’s ability to keep things close to the vest when it suits him. And it suits him just fine, thanks. He’s not there to sing “Auld Lang Syne.” He’s chasing a top spot on Buffy’s to-be-killed list. She comes to grips with it because she must, but a straightforward task becomes far harder when he admits the truth - he’s dying in the worst way possible and will do anything to escape the agony. Even become an unrepentant monster.

Finally, Buffy contends with her friends’ subversion. Up until now, Willow and Xander have been an unshakable foundation of faith and fealty. Suddenly they join forces with Angel and snoop on Ford. Does it matter that their intentions are good? It doesn’t diminish the disloyalty she feels. Can she trust them as she once did? Is it wise to trust anyone that much?

Foreshadowing comes in two flavors: episode level and the season long variety. Drusilla implies Angel knows her from the start. This leads to the backstory disclosure that Angel sired Drusilla. When Ford meets Buffy at The Bronze, he jokes, I know all your darkest secrets. He’s already aware Buffy’s the slayer. In the same scene, Angel admits to Buffy there’s a lot you don’t know about me. This observation pulls double-duty. It hints at his bond to Dru and presages how much more we’ve yet to learn, especially one crucial aspect of the curse which reinstated his soul. The whole story arc will turn on this revelation – far too late to avoid disaster.

Several season long denouements are portended in the opening conversation alone. Angel’s warning: If you don’t leave…it’ll go badly. For all of us. Dru’s prediction about Buffy: Poor thing. She has no idea what’s in store. Her promise that this is just the beginning. All hint at future plot developments. Once the tide changes, things go south for any warrior that picks up a stake in the name of justice. Eventually it’s also bad for the villains as Buffy finds a way to extinguish the fuse whizzing towards human annihilation. But the solution proves lethal to someone Buffy loves and her series-long goal of being a normal girl is dealt a devastating blow.

The pressures of adulthood begin an inexorable push into Buffy’s teenaged existence. People aren’t good or bad. They’re a confusing mishmash of both. Ford converts to the dark side b/c of an inescapable death sentence. Steady Willow and steadfast Xander commit a friendship faux pas under the heading of good intentions. Spike - a creature with zero scruples - sacrifices an easy meal and a chance at the slayer to save fickle, fey Drusilla. And Buffy’s spotless champion, Angel, exposes some glaring blemishes on his white charger resume.

What’s her lesson? Take your pick. Friends are imperfect. Villains have layers. Heroes hide their fatal flaws. Weakness burrows beneath the surface of decency, integrity within the most decadent heart. Life isn’t black and white anymore. It’s grayer and grayer. Buffy’s first step into this shadowy realm - in the words of Drusilla - is just the beginning.

Dialogue in italics from “Lie to Me” by Joss Whedon

Lie to Me - Part 3

Men occasionally stumble upon the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened – Sir Winston Churchill

Previously on Lie To Me, we learn both Angel and Ford are hiding things from Buffy.

Something feels off about Ford so Angel goes to see Willow. She opens the door to her bedroom balcony but he can’t come in until she invites him. It’s a vampire thing. But what is once done cannot be undone - without some serious magical mojo. The decision hardly seems momentous here, but it will exacerbate a plot crisis in an upcoming episode when Drusilla’s premonitions bear fruit. Another foreshadowing slight of hand.

Angel asks Willow to look Ford up on the internet. Is he jealous? Angel never used to be, but yeah, with Buffy, he is. Willow pokes around and discovers something weird. Ford’s school transcripts haven’t been transmitted as he claims. Willow’s mother comes to the door and prevents further surfing. Willow shoos Angel out, promising to meet the next evening. He asks her not to tell Buffy. Lie to Buffy? Willow’s not good at lying. It’s like asking a cat to care. Never happen. He advises her not to bring it up then. It’s probably nothing, anyway. Sure. You know how bad things hardly ever happen in Sunnydale.

The next day, Ford and Buffy reminisce about prom night at Hemery when Buffy was forced to burn down the gym to destroy a nest of vampires. The worst moment of her life is seen differently through Ford’s eyes. She saved a lot of people. One minute you're a kid, living in your safe kid world, and then - truth hits you in the face. Vampires. I'll never forget that night.

Knowing what we do now, it’s clear this has meaning beyond what Buffy comprehends. It’s also significant beyond what the audience understands, but we don’t realize that until the end. We know he’s a fraud - but he’s not ready to reveal himself. He wonders why everyone in school acted like the fire in the gym never happened. Buffy replies, People ignore truths they don’t like. She will soon discover how true this is.

On the way to class, they pass Willow, who is edgy, bordering on manic, afraid her covert ops will be discovered. When she races off, Ford comments she’s a nice girl. There aren't two of those in the world, Buffy assures him. Another interesting presage, as there will, indeed, be two Willows loose in a couple of future episodes. You have to see it to believe it.

That evening, Buffy and Ford take a walk around campus and come upon a pair of vampires skulking near the admin building. Ford takes out his own stake and follows the female vamp while Buffy trails the bigger male. They separate. Ford catches his vampire but promises to free her if she tells him what he wants to know. By the time Buffy dispatches her vamp and rejoins him, he maintains he’s dusted the girl vamp.

Near the club, Xander, Willow and Angel are searching for Diego. Willow tracks some of Ford’s e-mails from Diego to this address, so Angel uses Ford’s name to gain access. Once inside, they cop to the vampire theme and are approached by Chantarelle. She explains vampires are the Lonely Ones, misunderstood as monsters who just want to suffer the mantle of immortality in peace. Angel’s seen this kind of thing before, kids making up bedtime stories about friendly vampires to comfort themselves in the dark. Lying to avoid truth. A theme resounds.

After sending Ford home, Buffy beeps Giles and Miss Calendar so they can discuss the sighting of vampires on school grounds. Then she spies an old photo of a woman in one of Giles’ books. Giles explains it’s Drusilla, the on-again, off-again girlfriend of Spike. Buffy informs them Dru is in town and was last seen in the company of Angel. Suddenly, the girl vampire Ford supposedly staked lunges out of nowhere, swipes one of the texts, and bolts away. Ford didn’t dust the vamp. He lied to Buffy. What’s going on?

In a darkened warehouse, Drusilla gazes into a birdcage, crooning to a dead bird. Spike, her peroxide prince of darkness, saunters up behind her, unhappy to learn she met Angel while out questing for humans. Angel is the enemy now. Dru prattles on, cajoling the bird to sing. Spike pronounces the bird dead. She didn’t feed it and now it’s dead, just like the last one. She pulls a pout until Spike offers to get her another.

Ford emerges from the shadows of the warehouse, his face aglow with Disneyland fervor. He didn’t go home like a good soldier. In fact, he’s been a very bad boy. He hands Spike the text he had pinched from Giles. Ford knows all about Spike and wants to be a vampire like him. Yawn. Spike is unimpressed and doesn’t feature Ford living forever. When Ford promises to deliver the slayer, Spike changes his tune.

Angel seeks Buffy out at home to tell her Ford isn’t what he appears. Who is, these days? Willow ran a check on Ford. Wait – he and Willow went behind her back? And Xander knew? And no one saw fit to fill her in? Betrayal. Point blank, she hits Angel with Drusilla. He confesses he lied, but he was trying to protect her. Sometimes the truth is worse than a lie. He’s lived long enough to know.

Drusilla was one of the most unconscionable crimes Angel committed as Angelus. Dru became an obsession. She was pure and pious and he turned her into something corrupt and profane. He drove her insane - murdered her family, tortured her for days. She escaped to a convent but he made her into a vampire before she could take her vows. Dru’s earlier assertion about Angel resonates with new menace. Of course he remembers Dru’s mother. He executed her. Who could forget that?

Somber, sincere Angel sired the demented, dangerous Drusilla. Certainly not the kind of thing you want to hear about the man you love. Buffy knows the truth now. She wishes she didn’t, but she asked for it. She can’t hide from it now. Well, she could, but that’s not how Buffy operates. She has to face the fact Ford is lying, too. No friend of the slayer would apply to a secret society that reveres vampires. Disaster in duplicate. Or triplicate, if you count her friends’ we-did-it-for-your-own-good conspiracy. Buffy is smarting.

The next day, Ford flags Buffy down and asks if they can go out hunting vampires again. He’s got a surprise for her. Oh, she bets he does. They make plans to meet later. She watches him go with a heavy heart.

Ford and the True Believers congregate at the club, discussing the coming event when they will be “blessed.” Diego hopes Ford’s friends don’t show up - they’re not true believers. Ford freezes. What friends? The two guys and girl who showed up last night, Diego supplies. They weren’t friends. Chantarelle worries this will interfere with the blessing, but Ford says it won’t be a problem.

Buffy materializes behind Ford and begs to differ. She wants to know what Ford’s up to. To be become a vampire, of course. Funny thing - vampires are picky about who they turn. Then Buffy realizes Ford offered her up as a trade for the “blessing.” At Ford’s signal, Diego locks them in with a special rig that can only be opened from the outside. No doorknob. No way out. They’re trapped. Vampires will enter and no one will leave. Not with a pulse, anyway.

We’ll wrap up tomorrow with the conclusion, review the writing elements spotlighted, and do another GMCD check.

Dialogue in italics from “Lie to Me” by Joss Whedon

The GMC & D of Trick or Treat - The Wrap Up

“Clothes don’t make the man.” - proverb

Previously on The GMCD of Trick or Treat: Angel, Xander, and Cordy search for Buffy, Giles and Willow attempt to unravel the mystery behind the demon-possessed denizens of Sunnydale, and Buffy is cornered by a homicidal, hygiene-challenged pirate while Spike closes in on Buffy…

Giles and Willow enter the costume shop and confront the owner, Ethan Rayne. Giles recognizes him but it’s no Brady Bunch reunion. Giles urges Willow to run. Now. She scrams. Ethan smiles and calls Giles "Ripper". Hmm, that’s new.

Xander, Angel and Cordy come to Buffy’s rescue. Xander pummels Larry, the black-toothed pirate, dispatching him with great relish. Though Xander still doesn’t recognize Larry, he feels “a strange sense of closure.” Xander shoots…he scores! Goal.

We now enter the boggy grounds of the climax, the Big Black Moment in Deb Dixon speak, or the Resurrection of the Hero’s Journey. Willow rejoins her friends just as Spike surfaces with a battalion of ghouls. The Scoobies flee to safety. Buffy can’t possibly keep up so Angel sweeps her up into his arms.

Ethan mocks Giles’ tweed-clad, goody-goody persona. Giles is apparently more than the well-mannered Englishman we’ve come to know. Rather than bluster with intimidation, he responds with astonishing violence and cold-cocks Ethan. Did I call Giles guileless?

The gang seeks refuge in a warehouse. Angel deposits Buffy where she clings to a resigned if resilient Cordelia. He helps Xander move boxes to block the door. Unfortunately, metal is no match for demon super-strength. Spike and the goon platoon pound their way in.

Giles demands Ethan tell him how to break the spell. When Ethan refuses, Giles delivers a vicious kick to Ethan’s ribs. Ethan realizes Giles has left the building and Ripper stands in his steed. He tells Giles he must break the statue. Giles hurls it against the wall, shattering it to pieces. When he turns back, Ethan is gone.

Xander and Angel are subdued by Spike’s minions. Spike taunts a cringing Buffy, slapping her across the face. He revels in his power over her. Xander breaks free, aims his gun, and pulls the trigger. Nothing happens. The gun in his hand is plastic. “What the…”

Spike’s cronies are now two quaking high school students and a couple of shell-shocked seven- year-olds. Before Spike can react, Buffy drops him with a nasty right hook, declaring, “It’s good to be me.” She thrashes Spike, who breaks free and scurries away.

Cordy jabbers to Angel about all the weirdness, but he only has eyes for Buffy. Xander advises Cordy to give up. She’ll never get between Angel and Buffy. He’s tried. It’ll never happen. Then he realizes Willow is gone.

Across town, Willow wakes up in her own body. She takes off the sheet, studies it, then tosses it away. Reborn. Shy, uncertain Willow takes over in the face of tremendous odds and comes through. She stands a little taller, walks a little prouder.

The day wraps with Angel asking Buffy why she thought he’d like her better trussed up like a trimmed turkey. She wanted to be normal for once, be the kind of girl he used to like. Like? Angel shakes his head. He hated simpering misses. They were dull. Moronic. He’s “always wanted to meet someone exciting. Interesting…”

…and? Buffy needs to hear it. Needs him to tell her. That’s why this adventure started, after all. The dearth of personal details. So he gives a little. He shows her. By kissing her.

In the light of day, Giles returns to the costume shop. The place is deserted, the inventory stripped. Giles wanders across the room and finds Ethan’s business card. Scribbled across the front is a promise: “Be seeing you.” We haven’t seen the last of Ethan Rayne. Nor, I wager, Ripper.

Though unaffected by the spell, Giles is revealed to be more than he portrays. The benevolent watcher moves from stuttering professor to uncompromising combatant, a man who will do what he must to protect his slayer. As his inner life is slowly unveiled, we learn he’s capable of a whole lot more than a simple rib-bruising.

When Buffy’s super-strength is restored, she reverts to form – her true form. Here the relationship between midpoint and climax becomes very important. The choice she made that was meant to solve her problem with Angel, but instead escalates the disaster – pretense over personal power – is overturned. She faces her worst fear and trounces it.

She could have stepped aside and let Angel handle Spike if she wanted to continue role-playing. She didn’t. When the rubber hit the road, Buffy chose to be herself.

Xander may not have risen out of the ranks of sissy men completely, but Larry will think twice before thumping him again. Not b/c Xander played soldier boy and knocked Larry around. B/c Xander always backs Buffy up. Incognito or out. Any guy who stands with the slayer, even quaking in his boots – maybe especially so - is no coward. Not when it counts.

Spike lost this round, but he will be back. Sunnydale’s resident evil, he develops into a complicated character that spans many seasons and two series. Little is know about his internal world at this point, but he eventually swings from villain to hero in a convincing arc of evolution.

Self-realization should never come as a complete surprise. Buffy doesn’t abruptly recognize her worth. Willow doesn’t just discover her inner goddess. Xander doesn’t suddenly grow a spine. These things are within them. They just need a new lens through which to focus.

Did the writers drop hints so the audience could anticipate the end? You bet. They foreshadow early on that Buffy has the knowledge inside her. Remember her conversation with Willow, before they pilfered the watcher diaries? Willow definitively states Angel would never fall for Cordelia’s act.

Willow’s right. Angel doesn’t want Buffy to dress up or act differently. He just wants Buffy to be Buffy.

Moral (and theme) of the story - be yourself. You won’t be disappointed. This is first and foremost Buffy’s lesson, but they all hop onto the self-realization bus and hitch a ride. All except Cordy. Meow. But her time will come.

Like Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz, Buffy has her own pair of ruby slippers. She doesn’t exploit the power until she learns to appreciate who she is and what she has to offer: herself. A kind, decent kid who trains hard, sacrifices often, and - every year or so – saves the world.

Dialogue in italics from, “Halloween”, by Carl Ellsworth

The GMC & D of Trick or Treat - The Set Up

“Goals are not only absolutely necessary to motivate us. They are essential to really keep us alive.” - Robert H. Schuller

Previously on The GMC & D of Trick or Treat, I defined GMCD and selected the “Halloween” episode of Buffy the Vampire Slayer to dissect. Let’s meet the heroine and her two best friends.

Buffy Summers, Willow Rosenberg, and Xander Harris are the embodiment of Sunnydale’s Scooby gang. Their ranks swell and shrink as the series progresses, but they are the heart of the group. Buffy is the sardonic and super-strong leader of the pack. Willow is the brainy, wholesome computer specialist while Xander is the adorably dorky rear guard.

Buffy is attracted to Angel, the vampire with a soul who shares her destiny to fight evil. Like any girl, she’s unsure where she stands. Their relationship is new and tentative. He’s had two hundred plus years to perfect his vision of a dream girl. That’s a lot to live up to. That’s also internal conflict.

She plans to meet Angel at The Bronze, the non-alcoholic everybody-who’s-anybody high school hotspot. This is the external episode goal, a subset of the long-term story goal – a romantic relationship.

Because episodic TV flows differently than novels, the story arc of a particular character stretches across several episodes – even seasons. Consider an episode goal akin to a story goal. In the scope of the show it’s rather short-term, but it follows the same rules as a long-term external goal. Buffy will make several attempts at quality time with Angel until she gets it right.

Why does Buffy want this relationship? She likes him in a way she’s never liked anyone before. He’s special. Besides, what girl doesn’t long for a boyfriend? A universal desire for most teenagers. And a key motivator.

However, when Buffy walks in, she spies Angel chatting it up with teen beauty queen, Cordelia Chase. External conflict.

Cordy is the reigning rich girl with a lock on social status and a cadre of Cordettes who hang on her every fashion syllable. She’s shallow, sharp, and sensationally insensitive. She’s also everything Buffy isn’t: tall, statuesque, self-obsessed. Predatory.

More internal conflict. Buffy’s insecurity radar blips to life. She’s covered in muck from a tussle with vampires in a pumpkin patch and feels like Blue Collar Barbie next to Cordelia’s Rodeo Drive radiance.

Angel can’t dump Cordy fast enough when he sees Buffy, but Cordelia is tenacious. She drops a stealth bomb with pinpoint accuracy, “Love your hair. It just screams street urchin.”

In her diminished state, Buffy’s ego craters. Who is she kidding? Dates are for normal girls (internal goal). She’ll never be normal (internal conflict). Buffy slinks away to lick her wounds, her first attempt thwarted.

Her personal baggage orchestrates this disheartening symphony of concession. She is not yet strong enough to stand up to Cordy (external) or believe in her own feminine appeal (internal), hence she beats a hasty retreat (disaster, both internal and external).

At school the next day, the principal ropes the Scooby gang - and their orbiting satellite of scorn, Cordelia - into the annual Halloween safety program. They must dress in costumes and shepherd a flock of elementary school kids for a couple of hours of trick-or-treating.

Another external obstacle. And unwelcome news for Buffy. Halloween marks the day real ghosts and goblins go to ground while humanity pours into the streets masquerading as them. A sort of house arrest for the unholy.

Her one day off in three-hundred-and-sixty-five and she has to run herd over a bunch of sugar-frosted rug rats. The date with Angel is going to have to wait.

While she and Willow commiserate, Larry - high school jock and bane of Xander’s existence (external conflict) - approaches Xander and asks him what his chances are of “scoring” with Buffy. Xander longs to stand up to bullies (external goal) like Larry plus he’s had a crush on Buffy since they first met.

But – come on, she’s supergirl. What guy could champion her? Especially one who is convinced he’s a coward (internal conflict).

Xander immediately opens mouth, spouts tough guy rhetoric, and inserts foot. He gets exactly what you’d expect – Larry up close and personal. Before Xander can act, Buffy leaps to his defense (more external conflict), easily man-handling Larry. She face-plants him into a locker and recommends Larry “get gone,” which he does.

Angle on Xander, who is mortification squared. His reputation as “sissy man” will now have “unlimited shelf life” thanks to Buffy (disaster). Xander storms off.

Oops. Buffy and Willow contemplate this all of two seconds before moving on to more important things. Like dating. How did her date go with Angel? Buffy replays her lame performance at The Bronze, worrying that he seemed awfully tight with Cordy.

Willow doesn’t believe he’d fall for Cordy’s act for a minute. She’s not his type. That’s the problem, Buffy retorts. What is his type? He’s not exactly a motor-mouth of private minutiae.

A lightbulb goes on for Willow. There’s all kinds of information about Angel in the watcher diaries. Which are in the library. Where Buffy’s perfectly proper - if guileless - watcher, Giles, spends every waking hour as school librarian. Hot dog! Rededication and new short-term goal.

With a little finessing, they confiscate the texts and rifle through to find an image of a beautiful noblewoman. Coiffed, coddled. Entitled. The kind of woman Angel knew. The kind of woman Buffy will never be. Another nail to the heart. Cordy hammers the point deeper when she proclaims Buffy may be a demon expert, but Cordy’s the slayer where dating is concerned (disaster part deux).

Thoroughly demoralized, Buffy and company head to Ethan’s costume shop. Willow wants to stand out like Buffy (external goal), earn a ticket to popularity paradise (motivation), but she’s been president of the nerd club for years (external conflict).

Wouldn’t Halloween be the perfect opportunity to break the mold? Surrounded by possibilities, Willow picks the biggest costume cliché going – a white sheet with eye holes, a goofy smile, and the word “Boo” stenciled across the front (disaster).

Buffy urges Will to seize the moment. Halloween is the only day a nice girl can be someone she’s not, someone “sexy and wild with no repercussions.” This doesn’t sit well with the conservative Willow. She longs for confidence (internal goal), but Buffy’s suggestion is out of her comfort zone (internal conflict). Safer to hide in Buffy’s shadow (motivation).

Then Buffy sees a near replica of the ball gown in the watcher diaries. She doesn’t say it, but of course she’s thinking, “Wait till Angel gets a load of me in this!” Like it’s all about the wrapping, not the gift inside. Buffy doesn’t know that yet. She thinks being someone she’s not is the answer to winning Angel (belief system).

In classic plot structure, this is the midpoint, the point of no return that often marks a reversal in character. Deb Dixon defines it as the gray moment in her Big Black Moment workshop. The heroine develops a false sense of confidence. She’s been handed the keys to the kingdom, but she opens the wrong door.

Buffy doesn’t know it now, but the decision to compromise herself and wear this dress will greatly escalate the coming big black moment of disasters and work heavily in the villain’s favor.

Here also we see the theme of the show manifest: being someone you’re not to make people like you. To win over a boy (Buffy), build esteem (Willow), or earn respect (Xander).

Will it work? Find out in the next installment of the GMC & D of Trick or Treat. We will pick up with the villain of the piece, rising tension, surprising character revelations, and the episode disaster.

Dialogue in italics from, “Halloween”, by Carl Ellsworth