The Watcher Diaries: I Only Have Eyes For You - Buffy Episode 2.19
Posted by Jason Chamberlain on 07.10.2008
Sunnydale High gets haunted this week as a tortured ghost seeks to make peace with his murdered love... and Buffy and Angelus get pulled in! 411's Scooby Gang has the full review of this Buffy ghost story!
We’re a little late (blame me) but here is this week’s entry into The Watcher Diaries! Let’s go to J.D. Dunn for a recap.
Episode 2.19 — "I Only Have Eyes for You"
W: Marti Noxon
D: James Whitmore Jr.
Original Airdate: April 28, 1998
Synopsis: When Sunnydale students and teachers start reliving an unearthly violent romance from the 1950's, Giles tells Buffy they must resolve the issues of the poltergeist. The reenactment is the same every time: a male student and female teacher go through a vicious breakup before the boy pulls a gun and shoots her. A clouded Giles thinks the poltergeist is Jenny, who wants revenge for the awful way she died. Buffy also views the problems through her own skewed prism, hoping to extract some revenge on the boy who hurt the teacher. Giles theorizes that since James (the boy) keeps repeating the same night over and over again, he can't receive forgiveness. When Buffy is guided to the school by the spirit, she and Angel reenact the fight. Only this time, Angel can't be killed by a bullet.
Historic/Interesting Moment: We find out that Snyder knows about the Hellmouth and that he has a deep-seated fear of the Mayor (and rightly so, considering Season Three's closer).
Here’s Ron Martin with the full review!
This was the first episode that Buffy really explored the “ghost” theme. It would be explored thoroughly in Seasons Three and Seven, but here it debuts and debuts big. Not just a ghost finds its way into Sunnydale High, but the ever feared poltergeist. This is a Marti Noxon episode so be prepared for strong female characters…only this time with a twist.
Buffy sees the poltergeist as the embodiment of her broken relationship with Angel. In her eyes James is Angelus and she is unmoved by his emotional outburst. For Giles, the poltergeist is Jenny. Until the very last moment, he hangs onto this belief and only abandons it when it endangers the lives of the others. With the two leaders of the team blinded, it’s time for the rest of the gang to step up to the plate….but they don’t. The turn of events that leads to the possession of Buffy and Angelus is bizarre to say the least. It’s a clever ploy to use Angel as the key to ending the cycle of death. It’s often said that this is the episode where Joss saw spin-off potential in David Boreanaz and rightfully so as his gestures, while small and almost unnoticeable, playing a woman were golden.
An often overlooked layer of this episode is the saga of Spike. He is as tortured by Angelus as Buffy is. While Angelus puts the moves on Drusilla right in front of Spike, we realize Spike is different from other vampires – even Angelus. Angelus (unlike Angel) is incapable of love. Drusilla could care less for Spike’s feelings despite the decades they have spent together. However, Spike – missing soul and all – loves Drusilla. His standing up in secret in this episode guarantees an exciting season finale.
“I Only Have Eyes For You’s” place in the Buffyverse.
This is the first episode Willow takes an interest in magic as she stumble on files saved on Jenny’s computer. Willow attempts to do a spell, which ends badly. Of course, she would get much better at this as the series progresses. Also, this is the first episode we realize that Spike is a little different from other vampires. On top of that, if you read between the lines, this episode provides us with a rather bizarre chapter in the Buffy/Angel/Angelus saga. Oh, and this episode was reportedly the reason a third of the cast left for a new show at the end of the third season.
Themes explored in “I Only Have Eyes For You.”
Buffy feels guilty. Buffy is still feeling the guilt for not having killed Angelus when she had the opportunity and inadvertently leading to Jenny Calendar’s death. When the poltergeist rears its ugly head, Buffy is unable to think the situation out and blames the male poltergeist and sets to destroy it
Sunnydale isn’t like other towns. Principal Snyder and the City Council know about the Hellmouth. It could be argued that everyone in town knows Sunnydale is a supernatural magnet. When weird deaths happen, they are often overlooked by the town’s people and covered up by the town’s leadership.
Interesting…
Willow mentions the magic bookmarks and files she found on Jenny’s computer…despite the fact that Angelus destroyed Jenny’s computer just before killing her.
Quotable
Xander: Something weird is going on. Isn’t that our school motto?
Mike Gorman
No wonder this is the episode that convinced Whedon that David Boreanaz could carry his own spin off! The tragic story of doomed lovers reliving their experiences through several different groups is dramatic, touching, and a great set up for what is to come. This episode had the entire Scooby Gang on their toes as they attempt to exorcise the apparent poltergeist. Great moments included Willow's discovery of Ms. Calendar's spells, Spike's hidden recovery, Principal Synder's off hand comment that reveals he knows there are supernatural happenings in Sunnydale, and of course the ending between Buffy & Angel. The tender emotions they share while possessed are a great framing for the soon to arrive finale. We care about Angel again for that moment until the lovers' spirits cross over and Angelus is back. "Becoming" is almost here people, get out the Kleenex!
Jeremy Thomas
Oh, this is a fun, haunting (no pun intended) little episode. This was one of Marti Noxon's best episodes that she wrote for Season Two, playing with those kinds of parallels that she does so well. While the majority of the praise gets (deservedly) saved for the last act of the episode, with the play offs between Buffy/James and Angel/Grace, you have to love the build to it as well. Giles thinking that it was Jenny is a lovely touch, and provides him with his own story arc for the episode, showing how he is unable to let her go. We get to see Willow's magic starting to develop, which will become crucial to the end of the season, and further fun with the vampire trio. I think this was really one of the first episodes where I felt sympathetic toward Spike, instead of just being obsessed with how cool of a character he was. There's also the deepening mystery of the powers that be in Sunnydale knowing what's going on, with Snyder and the police chief, and the simple word "mayor" throwing Snyder into chills. A wonderful set-up.
Of course, like I said, the big payoff is the final re-enactment of the murder-suicide in the final act. You really, truly see David Boreanaz and Sarah Michelle Gellar's acting chops out in full force on this one, and they just draw you in beautifully. It's a scene that's really ballsy in terms of the content it dealt with, and they took a lot of risks that paid off nicely. The moment when Angel and Buffy, as Grace and James, kiss is a beautiful one, one that can impress even the most flagrant anti-Buffy/Angel fanatic. How do I know? Because here's my dark, dirty early-season secret...I hated that relationship SO much. I really did. Maybe that's why I love Season Two so much, besides the fact that it's quality TV...it un-neutered Angel, and turned him into the bad-ass villain I thought he should be, as opposed to the cute guy with the cool hair who showed up mysteriously at first, then turned into the vampire sidekick/boyfriend. I really did feel that the Angel & Buffy relationship moments were the weakest moments of Season One, and early parts of Season Two. But here, this moment...I'll admit it, I loved it. It was very nicely done, and you can't deny that.
Of course, then we get the "Ho, damn..." moment of the episode...Spike standing up, with the music that just screams "Vengeance is afoot." I've made no secret of the fact that Spike was my favorite part of the season, and seeing him back as being a force to be reckoned with made me giddy. It was the perfect cliffhanger moment to an entirely enjoyable episode.
Ronny Sarnecky
This episode is not one of my favorite “Buffy” episodes of all-time. That’s not to say that it’s awful. It’s just that this episode is missing something. It seemed like the underlying theme of “I Only Have Eyes For You” seems to be “should someone receive forgiveness if they commit a crime of passion.” That’s sick. I agree with Buffy on this one. The person deserves to be punished. This show did have a couple of cool spots. Having Buffy in the role of the shooter, and Angel in the “damsel in distress” was a nice twist. Also, seeing the look of the two when they were released from the trance allowed the viewer to step back and, despite being treated to one last Angel/Buffy kiss, we were quickly thrown back into the reality of an evil Angel. Plus, seeing David Boreanaz acting skills during that segment made showed the viewer his incredible range as an actor. It is this range that has allowed David to excel in his acting gigs as Angel, and in “Bones.” The greatest moment of the episode came at the very end when, unknown to Angelus and Drusilla, Spike rose from his wheelchair, with the ability to walk. The fun is about to begin.
J.D. Dunn
The show returned after a long hiatus with this episode from ace writer Noxon. A lot of "Buffy" fans consider this a classic because it reunites Angel and Buffy in a creative way, but the episode has a lot of problems that are hard to get around. Snakes and wasps may be fine for "Poltergeist", but these are very different kinds of ghosts and it doesn't make much sense for creepy arms to be coming out of lockers when the story is about star-crossed lovers.
Jason Chamberlain
This has always been one of my favorite episodes, and in the DVD special features, Joss Whedon names it as the episode that made him believe David Boreanaz deserved and could handle his own show.
As to why I love it, I guess I just love a good ghost story! And it's certainly a tragic story that somewhat mirrors Buffy's situation with Angel, evidenced by the fact that the spirit of the broken hearted James possesses Buffy at the end of the show, an interesting twist that allows the ghostly cycle to end, since Angel doesn't die when Buffy shoots him.
Buffy also is very hard on James for his crime, but a lot of that comes from the fact that she relates to him. She blames herself for destroying the man she loved, and the lesson of forgiveness in this episode isn't so much for James as it is for Buffy. She needs to learn to forgive herself for everything that happened as a result of her love for Angel, and do it soon, or she'll have bigger problems to worry about than ghosts.
Spike, always a badass, kicks things up a notch as he clearly has a plan of his own. He's free of his wheelchair but not sharing that info with Angelus or even Drusilla.
GRR!!! ARGH!!!
The 411: Some of the poltergeist stuff works (the classic ghost stuff, the possessions) and some doesn’t (monster hand in locker, bees all around the school). Continuity with the rest of the series took a back seat in this episode. That being said, the storyline was interesting and wrote a new chapter for Buffy and Angel. Events of the future are hinted at, though the episode acts mostly as set up for the season finale. Good but not great episode.
