"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" Earshot (1999)

Director:

Regis Kimble

Writers:

Joss Whedon (creator)
Jane Espenson (written by)

TV Series:

"Buffy the Vampire Slayer" (1997)

Original Air Date:

21 September 1999 (Season 3, Episode 18)

Genre:

Action | Drama | Fantasy

Plot:

After an encounter with a mouth-less demon, Buffy is infected with the demon's blood and she gains the ability to hear people's thoughts...

Plot Keywords:

Library | Female Protagonist | Heroine | Demon | High School

Cast

Sarah Michelle Gellar	...	Buffy Summers
Nicholas Brendon	...	Xander Harris
Alyson Hannigan	...	Willow Rosenberg
Charisma Carpenter	...	Cordelia Chase
David Boreanaz	...	Angel
Seth Green	...	Oz
Anthony Head	...	Rupert Giles (as Anthony Stewart Head)
Kristine Sutherland	...	Joyce Summers
Alexis Denisof	...	Wesley Wyndam-Pryce
Ethan Erickson	...	Percy West
Danny Strong	...	Jonathan Levinson
Larry Bagby	...	Larry Blaisdell (as Larry Bagby III)
Keram Malicki-Sánchez	...	Freddy (as Keram Malicki-Sanchez)
Justin Doran	...	Hogan
Lauren E. Roman	...	Nancy (as Lauren Roman)

Runtime:

60 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

USA:TV-PG

Company:

Mutant Enemy

Trivia:

When the gang are together in the library, Oz thinks to himself "I am my thoughts. If they exist in her, Buffy contains everything that is me, and she becomes me. I cease to exist". This is a nod to French philosopher René Descartes, who came up with the Latin phrase "Cogito, ergo sum" which translates to "I think, therefore i am". Descartes used it to prove his own existence, claiming his ability to form thoughts made him a real, living, human being.

Goofs:

Continuity: In the scene where Buffy is talking to Angel about his charade with Faith, Angel's necklace jumps from being tucked inside Angel's shirt to lying over top of his shirt and back again.

Quotes:

Angel: You can't get into my mind.
Buffy: How did you...
[brief pause]
Buffy: Why not?
Angel: It's like the mirror. The thoughts are there, but they create no reflection in you.

A great monster-of -the -week episode

*** This review may contain spoilers ***

This episode revolves around the problem of school violence. Someone at Sunnydale High is out to commit mass murder and it's up to the Scoobies to stop them. Buffy's temporarily developed the ability to read minds. Able to hear the pain of the people around her, she becomes more aware of the normal problems that surround her every day. "Earshot" doesn't have a lot to do with the season's story arc, but it's an episode that you really shouldn't skip if you're watching on DVD.

"Earshot" revolves around Buffy's new power to read minds. After battling a demon, she develops the ability to hear peoples thoughts and, at first, she enjoys it. She shows off in class, preens in front of boys, and tries to learn more about Angel's feelings for Faith. Pretty soon, the voices in her head become overwhelming though. She can't shut them up and it's driving her crazy. To make matters worse, she overhears someone plotting to kill everyone in Sunnydale High the next day.

While Angel, Giles and Wes try to cure Buffy, the Scoobies search for the killer. They question the students and try to figure out who is planning mass murder. The suspects include, Freddy, the disaffected school newspaper editor; Mr. Beach, the teacher who hates students; and Nancy, the girl who is jealous of Buffy. But, when Cordy finds an incriminating note that Jonathan, the school outcast, wrote, Buffy sets out to locates him. She finds Jonathan with a high-powered rifle and takes it from him, but it turns out that he may not be the killer after all...

There are a lot of good parts to this episode. I love the Scoobies trying to find the killer. "Hi, are you planning to kill a bunch of people tomorrow? It's for the year book." Also, who doesn't laugh when Buffy reads everybody's minds in the library? Oz's philosophical musings, Xander's panicked sex thoughts, Cordy saying and thinking the exact same things... It's all great. And Giles and Joyce's reactions to Buffy discovering that they slept together are hilarious... "TWICE?!" Also, Xander and Larry's scene is really funny and plays off their conversation in "Phases." Finally, I'm glad that Angel finally gets to save the day, by finding the heart of that other demon and curing Buffy.

On the downside, it's sort of sad to hear Jonathan swear that he'd never hurt anyone. I like Jonathan a lot. He's a interesting and conflicted character. But knowing what will happen to him in seasons six and seven, this episode seems almost tragic. Like he's calling for help and nobody can hear.

My favorite part of the episode: Sunnydale High's newspaper headlines.