The Watcher Diaries - Enemies - Buffy Episode 3.17
Posted by Jason Chamberlain on 01.06.2009
Ten years ago in Sunnydale, Buffy and friends set a trap and the rogue slayer Faith falls right in! Angel does some acting, Buffy gets chained up and Giles calls in a favor. Check out the full review of "Enemies"!
Welcome back to the Watcher Diaries! We're back after the holidays, and I hope you and yours had a great time!
Now, back to Buffy!
3.17 Enemies
Written By: Douglas Petrie
Directed By: David Grossman
Slayer Speak
Giles: Demons after money. Whatever happened to the still-beating heart of a virgin? No one has any standards anymore.
Watcher’s Notes: You can tell Seth Green has finished filming Austin Powers: The Spy Who Shagged Me as his hair isn’t blue anymore.
Mike Gorman has the full review!
This episode is about the things you do in times of "war" and the consequences. It is as much about the relationship between Buffy and Angel as it is about foreshadowing the relationship between Angel and Faith that will develop in his series. This week the Mayor decides that having Angel on his side could be a good thing and Faith is all over the idea of seducing him. She is growing into her role as enforcer for the Mayor as he seems to be the only one showing her the respect and care she craves. Still hurt by what she feels was Buffy's betrayal, Faith sees corrupting Angel as her chance to strike out at Buffy and show her dominance. Once straight forward seduction does not work, the Mayor steps in to help Faith and has a demon remove Angel's soul.
Angelus is back, or so it would seem. Boreanaz shines again this episode as he always does when he gets to loosen up and be Angelus. Of course it would soon become apparent that there really is a lot of acting going on. Angelus and Faith capture Buffy and it seems the bad guys have the upper hand. The scenes of Buffy's capture are wonderfully played by all involved. Eliza Dushku spends the episode building Faith's confidence and almost joy. Sarah Michelle Gellar turns on "hurt" Buffy very well in the face of Angel's supposed turn of character. Faith's highs soon lead her to start spilling the details of what is to come. Why not? They've got Buffy captured and soon will do away with her. Faith has her victory... for a moment. Just as she peaks, Buffy and Angel reveal their ruse. Angel's soul is intact and Buffy was playing the victim. They had manipulated Faith into giving them important details of the Mayor's plan and now they could show her that she had not really accomplished anything. The ensuing fight is truly insignificant as Faith has already been crushed.
But Buffy and Angel do not escaped unscathed themselves. Seeing Angel play into Faith was hard for Buffy and she needs time to get those images out of her head. She knew that Angel was just doing what he needed to in order for them to win but that does not make seeing your boyfriend get cozy with another girl any easier. This week foretells the consequences to come as the battle against the Mayor escalates. Things are going to get much harder before they get any easier. By episode's end the lines truly are drawn as Faith is revealed to all to be working with the Mayor. Of all the twists and turns of this episode the best to me was Giles masterminding the whole plot to draw out Faith's true intentions. The demon the Mayor asks to remove Angel's soul is actually an acquaintance of Giles who owed him a favor. Wesley is not at all pleased with all of these developments and threatens to get the Watcher's Council involved. A development that worries no one at this point. They have bigger fish to fry as the ascension and graduation approach. This episode allowed much of the cast to shine and moved forward the major plotlines in a well crafted manner.
Ronny Sarnecky
Business is about to pick up. WOW!!!! What an episode! This episode is the episode that takes us down the home stretch of the season. The Scooby Gang is finally made aware of Faith’s intentions, thanks to Angel faking that he is back to being bad. Once again, the Mayor was awesome in this episode. For someone who is supposed to be this indestructible bad guy, he gives off the charm and manners of someone’s grandfather. I love how, despite the madness, he is always upbeat and positive. It leaves the audience thinking that he can’t be that evil. However, they will see in time. His interactions with Faith are one of the highlights of the season. Seeing the pseudo-father/daughter relationship they have shows a different side to Faith’s personality, one who finally has the love of a parent that she has lacked all these years. This episode was also important in the Buffy/Angel relationship. Though the two were just playing in Angel’s return to Angelus, they went down a dark road that they didn’t want to cross again. It’s a point that will separate them, leading to Angel’s departure to LA and spin-off city. There were so many major plots in this episode which makes this episode one of the can’t miss episodes of the season. And, I didn’t even mention the Books of Ascention or Graduation Day. Final Rating: 10
Ron Martin
Another solid chapter in a string of them. Upon repeat viewings, I can begin to appreciate how far David Boreanaz has come from Season One's vanilla Angel character. He makes the switch from Angel to Angelus and back seemingly without much trouble and with the viewer knowing exactly which character they are seeing without explanation needed. Faith is full on here at her rogue best as is the Mayor with his creepy pet peeves yet, deranged mind. This would be an episode that would be "classic" for the Mayor and Faith characters. I enjoy the nice swerve at the end that actually got me the first time I watched it. I'm also a fan of when something dark and creepy is given human traits -- such as the demon monster thing owing Giles a solid for introducing him to his wife. Those things always score points with me. Though I understand the storyline, I never really liked the whole Buffy gets crazy because she saw Angel kissing Faith deal. I understand its intent and where it leads, but it just makes Buffy seem a little weaker to me. She's already been through so much, this seems like so little to bother her like that. I agree this is a must see episode from Season Three. MY RATING: 9.0
Jeremy Thomas
"Enemies" is just a brilliant episode. From the opening moments where Buffy and Angel are having to deal with being close but not too close, all the way through the gang's brilliant facade to trick Faith into revealing everything. This is, as Ron said, the point where business really picks up, and it's a credit not only to the great script by Douglas Petrie but to the acting on the parts of David Boreanaz, Eliza Dushku and Sarah Michelle Gellar. Angelus and Faith have a great chemistry between them, and Boreanaz really has you believing that it's real. It's funny that upon first viewing, you wonder if David's just a little bit off in his acting. By the time the episode is over and then when you watch it again, you realize that Angel is interpreting Angelus, and of course that's going to be a touch different because it's not the real thing. Now, that said there's a little bit of a flaw here in that it's not particularly clear when they came up with the plan, and that leaves just the slightest touch of weakness. But that's such a minor quibble as to be negligible, and in the end, this one just rocks. Episode Rating: 9.0
Jason Chamberlain
This episode is pretty sick, and I’ve got to give mad props to Boreanaz for pulling off one hell of a performance, within a performance, within a performance! Dushku also “holds the work down”, to quote Coach Hines and the Mayor is his usual cheery self. Offering mints to some scary demon, gotta love this man!
The big scene of course is the end reveal that Faith has been played, and it’s a badass moment. “Second best”, and we know the fix is in and Faith’s run as a double agent for the Mayor is over. My Rating: 9.0
GRR!!! ARGH!!!
The 411: Like I said, this is a week for lines to be drawn and motivations to be revealed. Many of the coming developments are uncomfortable and this was not a clean, easy win for the Scooby Gang. For those reasons and more this episode is a great example of the humanity they put into these characters. We care about what is happening and what is to come. What more could you ask for in great TV?
