Becoming: Part 2 (19 May 1998)

Spike strikes an unlikely alliance with Buffy to keep Angel from destroying the world.

Director:

Joss Whedon

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator), Joss Whedon

Stars:

Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan

Cast

Episode cast overview, first billed only:
Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon	...	Xander Harris
Alyson Hannigan	...	Willow Rosenberg
Charisma Carpenter	...	Cordelia Chase
David Boreanaz	...	Angelus
Anthony Head	...	Rupert Giles (as Anthony Stewart Head)
Max Perlich	...	Whistler
Seth Green	...	Oz
Kristine Sutherland	...	Joyce Summers
Robia LaMorte	...	Jenny Calendar
James MacDonald	...	Detective Stein (as James G. MacDonald)
James Marsters	...	Spike
Juliet Landau	...	Drusilla
Armin Shimerman	...	Principal Snyder
Susan Leslie	...	First Cop

Storyline

Buffy arrives too late to save the gang from Drusilla's surprise attack, and ends up being arrested for the murder of one of her friends. After escaping from the police, she discovers that Willow is comatose, Giles has been kidnapped, and she is almost totally alone going into the final battle with Angelus. She heads out to rescue Giles and stop Angelus once and for all... with the help of an unlikely ally.

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Plot Keywords:

library | hero gone bad

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Genres:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

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Certificate:

TV-PG

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Latin

Release Date:

19 May 1998 (USA)

Filming Locations:

1800 Stewart St., Santa Monica, California, USA

Company Credits

Production Co:

Mutant Enemy, Kuzui Enterprises, Sandollar Television

Technical Specs

Runtime:

44 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Goofs

How could Spike have made Drusilla go unconscious with a sleeper hold if vampires don't breathe?

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Quotes

Buffy: You know I didn't do it. The police will figure it out.
Principal Snyder: In case you haven't noticed, the police of Sunnydale are deeply stupid. It doesn't matter anyway. Whatever they find, you've proved too much of a liability for this school. These are the moments you wanna savor. You wish time would stop so that you can live them over and over again. You're expelled.
Buffy: [draws a sword] You never ever got a single date in high school, did you?
Principal Snyder: Your point being?
[...]

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Crazy Credits

The Mutant Enemy mascot, the little monster that goes "Grr Argh" at the end of all episodes, is changed here: it says 'Oh, I need a hug."

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Connections

Referenced in Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Faith, Hope & Trick (1998)

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Soundtracks

"Close Your Eyes (Buffy/Angel Love Theme)"
Composed by Christophe Beck

User Reviews

Season 2 Review

*This is a review of season 2 as a whole. The rating above is for the season finale as opposed to the season as a whole.

Following a first season which I personally thought was rather poor in general and which only featured two really good episodes (Angel, Prophecy Girl), season two of "Buffy the Vampire Slayer" doesn't exactly get off to a fantastic start, as with the exception of the very good "School Hard", doesn't quite get going until its sixth episode, "Halloween", an episode which is so much smarter and more creative than anything the series had seen up to that point.

Overall, the first half of the season, all the way through to "Surprise" feels like a developing series that isn't quite sure of itself, however when it gets to "Surprise" it becomes an entirely different series, a brilliantly effervescent genre-bending series which features some wonderfully creative and intelligent writing.

I was discussing this show with someone recently and they said it better than I could ever say it: "Buffy" was excellent in spite of its simplicity. I don't really care if I offend any fans in saying this, but the metaphors on this series are pitched at a fairly adolescent level and the depth the show has comes from the writing contained within that format as opposed to the format itself.

Indeed, the actual plot of this season is at first glance a bit silly and is essentially cookie-cutter fantasy fodder, but here's the twist: great characters. There is not a single character in this season (other than, occasionally Drusilla) that grates on me. None. The characters here are excellent, oddly enough Buffy herself may be among the weaker ones, but that's alright as this is much more of an ensemble programme than its title suggests (its title suggests a lot of things which aren't true).

Another reason the series excels in spite of itself is that it really is smart, well-written stuff, the majority of it anyhow. Season Two is not consistently great, in fact, the first half could be considered consistently average with an occasional burst of greatness. However, when this series is good, it is very, very good. Considering the idea behind the series it's really quite shocking what they have managed to come up with. Consider the basic diversity of the season's best episodes:

"Innocence"- you don't get much darker than this in terms of subject matter but the genre-bending nature of the series turns it into a stunning television tour de force that effortlessly combines some of the series' best humor, character development, action, and drama.

"Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered"- Marti Noxon wrote this cheery, utterly hilarious, and very inventive Valentine's Day episode which is really pretty flawless. When you can fit something like this into a season of such darkness and complexity you know you've hit on something.

"Passion"- playing it almost completely straight for once, this is a remarkably well-written dramatic episode that manages to be truly scary and effective.

"Becoming, Part 2"- "Innocence" on steroids

The diverse nature of the series allows for endless creativity and very solid writing throughout. One thing I absolutely loved about "Buffy" season two was that it only took itself seriously enough to manage to be compelling drama when it wanted to be. I was never part of "Buffy" fandom and I probably will never be as it honestly is not one of my favorite series, but it's easy to see what many admire in this show.

The excellent cast bring the characters to life very well and are very charismatic. Direction, photography, and music are better than the TV standard at the time. All things considered special effects are done excellently.

Avg. Rating based on all episodes: 7.1/10- a solid season with remarkable highs but far too many lows to be considered a great television season overall.