She really doesn't deserve the hate she gets. In the space of a few months she learnt she wasn't real. Her mum died then her sister died. If that didn't mess her up I would be more worried to be honest
Right, she's a fifteen year old that lost a parent. Kleptomania probably comes from the lack of control she has in her life. A way to deal with everything.
Yeah, she panicked. It was definitely Cabin Fever. I mean she was right tho. If they are stuck there forever, it's better Willow takes a chance to use her powers. i mean if there were a time to use it in an emergency, this is it. Using it for decorations not so much. lol
The ending is so hilarious. After her dramatic speech Halfrek discovers she is trapped. "It's the curse, Hallie." "Oh, all right! The curse is lifted" I love Halfrek, hope we see more of her.
Anya was panicked being trapped, and acting panicked. She thought they were going to die and went into the fight side of fight or flight. Also, Anya was a vengeance demon for a millennium, she's got a darker side.
In 1880 Halfrek was known as Cecily Adams. She was the one who told William Pratt that he was beneath her, leading him to storm off and meet Drusilla who then turned him into the Vampire Spike. Just like Anyanka avenged scorned women, Halfrek was the vengeance bringer for neglected children. Hence Anya quipping "daddy issues".
Halfrek has appeared only once on this show prior to this episode, same actress, but she wore her demon face on that episode, that's why no one recognizes her when she is in her human form.
this is a perfect reflection of an interview with the cast some time ago, where Michelle Trachtenburg always skipped out on her lessons to "hang out with the cool kids.". Halfrek being trapped along with the others was hilarious.
It is just the first apparition of Halfrek as a vengeance demon but her first apparition was as Cecily in "Fool for love". In "The Wish" it was Anyanka.
This episode really does highlight how abandoned Dawn is. She went from being the key- the center of everything, to be protected at all costs- to being an 'ordinary' girl who has no real place anymore. All the adults in her life are dead or too busy with their own lives to pay any attention to her. She's barely been alive very long, isn't the key anymore, and just has no clue what her identity is. She's literally been abandoned by the story up until now. Yeah, I know some people will still call her whiny or cringe, but honestly I relate to her a lot.
Anya isn't used to mortal problems like dying trapped in a house, not being able to live life, and just the idea of mortality. And yeah, unfortunately, they would all die if Buffy couldn't patrol because demons would come and burn down the town again, that or they run out of food. She was having a panic attack and she chose, wrongly, to sacrifice one friend's mental state for everyone and the friend to live. When being faced with the prospect of mortality, it is a scary thing. Halfrak shows what being a vengeance demon is like, not even enchanted swords through the spine hurts a vengeance demon. Being human has a lot of cons and weaknesses.
I thought Anya was very much in character this episode. She is very blunt and direct with the things she says and that is often interpreted as rude and insensitive. It seems she has yet to have been human long enough to have learned about taking other people's feelings into consideration. She only reacted the way she did (which granted, may have seemed a little harsh) because of the extreme circumstance of them being unable to leave, possibly trapped forever
About Spike 'whispering falsities' in Buffy's ear, about her being a certain way (21:36)... I assume you mean the scene in the Bronze in Dead Things where he whispers from behind her (ahem!), 'You always end up in the dark, with me'? I agree, of course, that there are big differences between them. But don't forget, also, that Buffy was the one who went for the kiss (and then more) in Smashed, in the very midst of her and Spike beating each other up. She was the one who beat Spike into a pulp at the end of Dead Things when he tried to stop her from turning herself in to the police, while he offered no resistance but just let her hit him again and again. Buffy is not so far from Spike as you might like to think. In fact a lot of this season has been drawing parallels between them, even down to their bloody knuckles in Bargaining. To put it more briefly, Spike is a *very* good judge of character and he manipulates people by telling them the truth, or at least half-truths. (Remember The Yoko Factor, from Season 4.) Buffy only had sex with Spike when she found out that he could hurt her.
I don't remember which reactor I was watching, but I remember her having a hunch when Dawn said "I wish..." to the guidance counselor. Those are two words that you should never say in the Buffyverse.
I can only think of one precedent for Anya's behavior in this episode. And that was in season 5, the episode "the replacement", when Anya freaked out about her mortality after getting her arm broken. This is a whole another level of "freaking out". But justified by the fact that the mortal danger was more real and inescapable.
I think of it as Anya being prone to think the worst and worry the most of the gang; which IS the case. The reason she was so over the top seems to me that Anya is the one who is most aware of the implications of not being able to EVER leave; and she just doesn’t have as much experience or trust as everyone else with things just working out. She is used to thinking over the very long term. Everyone else is thinking about missing work and Anya is thinking of dying in that house because of Willow. And if they hadn’t summoned the other demon in, she probably would have been correct.
I think Anya being now human and being in love with another human has a part to play in her behaviour. We saw her accept mortality and now she fears losing Xander, they just got engaged. She sees Buffy and Willow as superhuman and is pissed that they, the regular humans, have to put their lives in danger. Anya went from powerful demon to helpless human, I think that she hates feeling powerless like this.
10:29 This is the one issue I have with the *magic = drugs* idea: given how often they fight supernatural beings, they-as a group-legitimately _should_ use magic sometimes. Working with the analogy, you can't expect someone to stop taking a prescription drug that they need even if their friend/roommate has a drug problem.
Sassy Tara is best Tara. We're seeing the real woman peak through as she gains confidence. Consider the trauma she MUST have endured, and she retains such humanity. She TRULY is the best person in the Buffyverse. She sill has flaws, but those flaws are insignificant and her virtues outweigh then by order of magnitude. (for those who doubt she has flaws: her self doubt has driven her to hide truths and endanger her friends. She's supported Willow to a reckless degree bc of her love. The fact she is outgrowing these flaws demonstrates growth and self awareness despite how awesome she already is)
Anya's behavior here doesn't surprise me. She's still relatively new to being a mortal human again. So she's more easily frightened when put in real danger. Also, she still hasn't really developed full compassion for others. So she looks at the Willow situation with a kind of cold logic. Willow COULD save them, so she SHOULD. Period. When especially stressed, Anya still reverts to a selfish, "Better you than me" response.
The term for Halfreck's situation near the end, from Hamlet, is "hoist with {her} own petard". A situation where someone setting a bomb (petard) is caught in the explosion of said bomb.
Anya is still having difficulty adjusting to human emotions. I feel for Dawn. She is going through a lot. The stealing is a cry for help. Clem is just brilliant. Buffy looks stunning and Tara is simply magnificent .
I also get incredibly frustrated with Anya and Xander in that moment where they are putting pressure on Willow and god bless Tara for stepping in like that she is such a treasure. In defense of Anya and Xander though I have always kind of chalked it up to their inexperience in dealing with someone struggling with addiction. In their mind they thought it would just be one little thing in service of saving all of them and she would be able to just recover from it again.
15:11 There is an interesting fan theory, that was sorta kinda confirmed, but not 100%, that Halfrek is Cecily, which is why she found Spike, or William, so familiar, and vice versa.
You should consider a portable airconditioner which typically needs a window to vent. Mine keeps about 225 square feet cool. This episode always makes me think. This is the party that never ends Yes it goes on and on my friend Someone started it Not knowing what it was But people kept partying just because
You're missing Giles because he is the "responsible parent" who would know (more or less) how to handle all of these issues and that's kind of why he's gone. The group needs to learn to handle these annoying adult issues themselves. Buffy is literally aging up. Buffy did well to invite Tara, she needed support and so she asked Tara for help. Willow did well to refrain from temptation. Tara did well for standing up for someone else like Buffy did for her.
Halfrek is of course Anya's friend and Vengeance Demon, this is of course the same actress who played Cecily in S5 who rejected Spike so cruelly. An interesting concept here of being trapped in the house, and of course the Richard character is thrown into the mix as well as Sophie, but make things worse. Dawn's Kleptomania now reaching extreme levels. It was just as well it was Tara that caught Spike and Buffy, and great little comedy with the groin cramp with Spike and Tara when playing cards. Dawn again being the total stroppy teenager causing all this trouble again, we know she is going through deep psychological trauma, but it is interesting to see how this affects others, which I think is what the writers were trying to show. The fact that Richard gets sliced by The Demon is also interesting as he is totally innocent but collateral damage because of Dawn's Wish. The Anya/Willow/Tara confrontation was great drama, it is so awkward too when Anya confronts Dawn in front of everyone about the stealing. A bittersweet ending with Willow and Tara reconciling, and great little comedy moment at the end when Richard says you have some strange friends. All in all a good episode mirroring The Wish from S3.
It's been theorized that Cecily may have been Halfrek in disguise, or that she became Halfrek the vengeance demon shortly after rejecting William/Spike.
@@ronfehr7899 It would have to be the former, since SPOILER in Season 7, Halfrek refers to "That thing in the Crimean War" that she and Anya laugh about now. The Crimean War was before Spike became a vampire.
Maybe I'm in the minority here, but I found Anya's behavior a refreshing change from the ditzy blonde routine. Not that I don't love her quirkiness, but here she has depth. Perhaps a fuller range of human emotions is taking hold as things like wedding stress and missing Magic Box inventory pick at her human side. It was a nice foil against Anya's calm reassured approach.
It was a bit odd to me how casually Xander mentioned the musical spell he accidentally cast. People died *burning alive* because of him! You talk about Faith's journey after killing an innocent, but what about Xander? They dropped the ball with letting that get swept under the rug, imo.(or really, never should have done that in the first place)
@Moooooogie yes he was, not same as him murdering people in cold blood like Faith did though. Just wanted to make that distinction, not letting Xander completely off the hook, he has done some really damning shit.
I don't like that they made Anya act that way towards Willow so that Tara could have her 'Defend Willow' moment. Anya's grown over the course of the show and wouldn't have tried ganging up on Willow like that. Especially since (based on the information they had at the time) Anya was right, Willow should have cast the spell to save everyone's lives even if it did harm her recovery. An addict's recovery is important but putting it over the lives of others is preposterous.
18:12 It seems Anya his claustrophobic. The thought of being trapped really got her. Anya had a point - Willow is a far more powerfull witch than Tara and it is true that she wouldn't, not that she couldn't. Both points are true.
I vaguely recall someone saying Halfrek was already a vengeance demon when Spike was crushing on her? Pretty sure it's a retcon, but I do wonder if she's aware of the consquences of saying he was beneath her...
About Anya, I think she was panicking there. She seems on the brink of a panic attack on a few scenes and than she gets weird like that. And Anya's friends is the same actress that plays Cecil, spike's love interest in fool for love. So they make a joke as if its the same character
Anya has always had Trumpitis. She has always been narcissistic, self-centred, and self involved…Seems that no one remembers the Spike episode from season/series five and the personnel in it. Oh well.
Buffy and Spike are definitely captivating, but also toxic, in both directions. Buffy is trying to fix it, but Spike doesn't think it needs fixing. Violence has always been a part of their interactions; that isn't healthy for Buffy, but Spike doesn't have a problem with it - and remember, he's still a vampire. He may have romantic tendencies, but he still has no soul, so his romanticism is also partly selfish obsession. I believe he would indeed die for Buffy or Dawn - but pain and pleasure are linked for him, and for Buffy. Not healthy.
Upon rewatching this one I have come to realize that Anya’s hostility or aggressiveness towards Willow which first surfaced in season 5 resurfaces here. She still has a ways to go with her humanity.
