Buffy 4.18: "Where the Wild Things Are"

Written by Tracey Forbes
Directed by David Solomon

In which Buffy and Riley’s sexual escapades unleash an unusual poltergeist, which strikes when Riley throws a party at his dorm, while Xander and Anya deal with issues of their own…


Status Report

This is one of those episodes that has the feel of fan fiction: lots of talk about sex and sex itself with some character development tossed in for good measure. And in some cases, that would actually be worth the time and effort. However, this is the fourth season, where the writing staff had been struggling with the season arc for quite a while. With only a handful of episodes left for the season, it’s hard not to wonder if the writers just wanted to pretend that the season arc didn’t exist.

Two topics come along in the teaser, but only one of them is carried through the rest of the episode. First and foremost, Buffy and Riley have resolved the relatively minor Faith issue and resumed their physical relationship with gusto. Having spent a great deal of time finding each other before taking it to the next level, there’s little or no hesitation at this point. Buffy is clearly enjoying the prospect of a boyfriend without curses or other such issues, and Riley must be enjoying what all those little Slayer muscles can do.

There’s also the growing awareness that vampires and demons are working together. As Giles notes, this is unusual. This touches on something that was highlighted in the “Angel” episode “Hero”: the more pure an Earth-bound demon is, the more they seem to feel disdain for vampires, who are the mutts of demonic society. For vampires and demons to come together is seen as a major threat. Is it a question of numbers? It’s hard to tell, but why this is a specifically challenging threat is never explained.

Meanwhile, in counterpoint to the Buffy/Riley relationship (and even the Willow/Tara pairing), Xander and Anya are having relationship issues. Xander is still spinning the Wheel of Crappy Temporary Jobs, and has hit on “ice cream man”. Anya, however, is more intent on understanding why Xander might want a night off here and there. Leaving aside the question of what they do when Anya is dealing with her monthly biological ordeal, it’s clear that their relationship has avoided depth through a purely physical expression. That has it’s time and place, but sooner or later, the lack of any other connection becomes overwhelming.

At the center of the episode is yet another repeat of a central “Buffy” theme: sex can have unanticipated consequences. The message is blurred by the fact that it’s the sum total of repressed sexual and violent emotions, caused by an ultra-religious suppression of those emotions, that leads to the trouble. So which is it? Is frisky young adult sexual activity normal, or is it more trouble than it’s worth? The writers can’t seem to make up their minds, can they?

Whatever the case, in this particular matter, the issue is more focused: when sex becomes the sole focus of a relationship, it’s a bad sign. As interesting as this topic might be, there are limits to how deeply the topic can be explored. The first sex scene between Buffy and Riley goes about as far as it could have, given the demands of a series on a major network with lots of programming censors. As the episode marches on, this inability to fully explore the effect of the “spell” on Buffy and Riley takes something away from the episode.

Similarly, as the effects begin to spill out into the rest of the party, there’s the running gag of the “instant orgasm” spot on the wall, as discovered by some of the partygoers. Like the scenes with Buffy and Riley, this is never taken quite as far at it could have been. The idea is that the unanswered sexual desires of the teenagers who used to live at the house, and the consequences thereof, are being unleashed on the partygoers. If those same desires drove Buffy and Riley to extremes, why not everyone else?

The answer, of course, is that the effects had to be a bit more tame than they should be, thanks to the limitations of network television. A more “realistic” approach would have probably been closer to one of those ludicrous Cinemax “supernatural sex thrillers”. A lot of the consequences would have likely been the same, but there certainly would have been a lot more skin and darker elements of mind control. In terms of the fan fiction-esque quality of the episode, a fanfic writer would have certainly taken this into far more lurid and graphic territory.

Meanwhile, the writers do score some points by inserting a number of great Spike/Anya scenes. Spike and Anya are both characters with demonic pasts who have been forced into a different kind of lifestyle, and so there’s plenty of fertile ground to explore. Hearing Anya and Spike think back on all those bygone, carefree days of slaughter is damned funny.

With the central premise missing a lot of its bite, the episode rests on metaphor and character development. Anya does what many people do: she only realizes a lack of deeper intimacy when the physical relationship slows down. Her response, of course, is to accuse, to point at Xander and say that it’s his problem that the relationship is in doubt. In reality, of course, both are struggling to find something other than the physical that binds them together.

Oddly, Xander shows a little more confidence than usual when dealing with Julie. Granted, she’s under a bit of unusual influence herself, driving her towards a heightened attraction, but Xander doesn’t embarrass himself nearly so much as he normally would. One could interpret that as being a by-product of his “success” with Anya, except that this confidence is fleeting at best. (Xander’s character arc is more like a tangle of string that ends where it begins.)

While the poltergeist activity gets more and more extreme, the sexual component backpedals. By the middle of the episode, instead of intensifying, it actually becomes less suggestive. Sure, there’s some writhing, moaning, and all that, but the extent of the control over their desires is not fully communicated. The episode itself draws a parallel between the intensity of the sexual activity and the extent of the poltergeist activity, so as events escalate, Buffy and Riley should be driven to more and more extremes. (And since the sixth season went into some rather kinky directions, it would have been possible.)

To make up for that, the writers try to develop a metaphor: just as Buffy and Riley have been withdrawing into their own world since their relationship started (though not as much as the metaphor requires), the effect of the “spell” isolates them more and more within their passion. This leaves the rest of the gang to save them. In a nice change of pace, Xander is the one leading the charge.

This allows for some of the funnier moments of the episode: Spike convincing himself not to act, the gang’s reaction to Giles’ performance, Xander’s response to Mrs. Holt. And the fact that Xander and Anya end up trying to rescue Buffy and Riley perfectly sets the stage for them to figure out what they mean to one another.

Oddly, a lot of the effects don’t seem to last very long. Xander keeps his facial wound, but Anya’s hand doesn’t seem to bother her much. More to the point, for two people who were screwing each other to death, Buffy and Riley seem no worse for the wear. If anything, they seem to look back on the marathon session fondly. (And who can really blame them, if the downside was no negligible?)

Perhaps the most annoying aspect of this episode is that it doesn’t replace what should have been (an escalation of the arc) with an equally compelling or memorable concept. For this episode to leave the impact intended, it would have needed to go much darker and deeper into the effects of the house on those within. Instead, even the character arcs didn’t quite come together. For every attempt the writers make to drive home the point of the fourth season, that the group was falling apart, the theme would be undermined by the lack of evidence. After all, it’s hard to demonstrate that people are growing far apart when they’re always fighting together!


Memorable Quotes

XANDER: “Anya, there’s a lot more to you and me than sex. Well, there should be!”

ANYA: “A year and a half ago, I could have eviscerated him with my thoughts. Now I can barely hurt his feelings. Things used to be so much simpler…”

ANYA: “First, there’s the love, and sex, and then there’s nothing left but the vengeance. That’s how it works.”

GRAHAM: “And I’m the one who got a D in Covert Ops…”

ANYA: “I’m just trying to tell you that we have nothing in common besides both of us liking you penis!”

SPIKE: “I know I’m not the first choice for heroics, and Buffy’s tried to kill me more than once. And I don’t fancy a single one of you at all, but…actually, all that sounds pretty convincing.”

TARA: “Does he do this a lot?”
XANDER: “Sure…every day the Earth rotates backward and the skies turn orange.”
WILLOW: “Now I remember why I used to have such a crush on him…”

GILES: “In the midst of all that, do you really think they were keeping it up? Oh, for a different phrasing…”

XANDER: “Yeah? You smell sin? Well, let me tell you something, lady…she who smelt it, dealt it!”

RILEY: “I can’t believe it really happened.”
BUFFY: “I just had no idea. It’s so creepy! He was really singing?”


Final Analysis

Overall, this episode tries to approach character development through a sexually-charged plot concept, but the limitations of a network series made it impossible to follow through. As usual for the fourth season, the smaller character moments are the best part of the story. It doesn’t help, however, that an episode so far into the season does little to enhance the struggling season arc.

Writing: 1/2
Acting: 2/2
Direction: 2/2
Style: 1/4

Final Rating: 6/10