| "What's My Line" | |||||||
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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |||||||
| Episode no. | Season 2 Episode 9 & 10 |
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| Written by | Marti Noxon Howard Gordon |
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| Directed by | David Solomon David Semel |
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| Production no. | 5V09, 5V10 | ||||||
| Original airdate | November 17, 1997 (Part 1) November 24, 1997 (Part 2) |
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| Guest stars | |||||||
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Seth Green |
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| List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes | |||||||
"What's My Line" is a two-part season 2 episode of the television series Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
In Part One, Buffy endures Career Week at school while Spike hires assassins to kill her; a fierce fighter who identifies herself as "Kendra, the Vampire Slayer" shows up in Sunnydale. In Part Two, Buffy encounters another vampire slayer, while Angel is taken by Spike for a ritual in which Drusilla is restored to health.
Contents |
Plot synopsis (part one)
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: What’s My Line, Part One |
As career week arrives, Buffy feels isolated and apathetic because the students around her are exploring their choices for the future, while her fate as the Slayer is already set in stone. Even so, she must join Willow and Xander in filling out career questionnaires. Spike works on a cure for Drusilla as she lays out Tarot cards. He becomes frustrated with Dru's childlike behavior and ruminates on Buffy's interference in his plans. Dalton, a vampire transcriber, is unable to decipher the book stolen from the library a couple of weeks earlier which contains a cure, but then Drusilla informs Spike that they need a key because the book is in code. The cards indicate the location of the key, much to the delight of Spike.
Buffy witnesses Dalton stealing an object from a mausoleum, but he escapes when she is distracted by another vampire. She enters her bedroom through the window out of habit, despite the fact that her mother is out of town for a few days, and finds Angel waiting to warn her of grave danger, and she notes with irritation that he does this a lot. He discovers her childhood obsession with Dorothy Hamill (Dorothy dolls, posters, and haircut), and offers to take her ice skating the following day. At school the next morning, the test results are revealed, much to the chagrin of Buffy and Xander. Buffy reports to Giles, and he is distressed and disappointed when she tells him about the theft from the mausoleum.
Spike and Drusilla examine the key stolen by Dalton, a gold cross. Spike decides to call the Order of Taraka, an ancient guild of assassins, to rid himself of Buffy once and for all. Back at school, Willow is taken into a secluded lounge area to be recruited by a leading software company, along with Oz, the boy who has been watching her for weeks. At the mausoleum, Giles realizes with concern that Josephus du Lac (a member of a religious sect that had been excommunicated by the Vatican) is buried there. He is the author of the book stolen from the library, and Giles believes the key was stolen from the tomb.
In the meantime, the assassins begin to arrive. A large, intimidating man exits a bus, and a door-to-door beauty salesman walks down the sidewalk past Buffy's house to her next-door neighbor's. He gains an invitation inside, the door closes, and the lady of the house screams. A young woman attacks an airplane worker in the cargo hold of a plane, escaping with little difficulty.
Giles tells Buffy, Xander, and Willow about the "du Lac Cross" which can be used as the key, and he enlists their help with further research. Buffy manages to keep her ice skating date with Angel. She is attacked while ice skating, and Angel arrives in time to help her fight off the assassin whom she kills with the blade of her skate. Angel, recognizing the assassin's ring, asks Buffy if she knows what it means ("I just killed a Super Bowl Champ?"), and then warns her that she should leave Sunnydale and hide. Angel is wounded and doesn't want Buffy to have to touch his vampire face, but she removes her gloves to touch his face with her bare hands, assuring him that she hadn't even noticed, and kisses him. The female from the plane watches from the shadows.
The assassin next-door to Buffy's house feeds on the body he had killed by disintegrating into hundreds of writhing mealworms which can reshape themselves into limbs at will. Buffy is paranoid and jittery, suspicious of each person who passes by in the hallways at school. As Oz passes her, she panics and pins him against a locker. Oz declares her to be a "tense person". Buffy arrives at Angel's empty home and falls asleep in his bed. Angel goes to Willy's bar for information, and Willy finally confirms Angel's suspicions that Spike is behind the assassins, but before Angel can leave, he is attacked by the mysterious female. They fight, and she locks him in a metal cage in front of an eastern window, with only a few short hours until sunrise.
Giles awakens Willow, who had fallen asleep ("Don't warn the tadpoles!" she exclaims, subsequently explaining that she has "frog fears"). He reveals that the missing manuscript is a ritual to restore a weakened vampire back to health. Xander and Cordelia enter Buffy's house, and Xander searches for her while Cordelia waits downstairs. She hears a knock at the door and lets in the mealworm assassin, again appearing as a make-up salesman promising free samples. In Angel's bedroom, Buffy awakes to find herself being attacked by the mysterious woman. They fight, and the woman tells Buffy that her name is Kendra, the Vampire Slayer...
Plot synopsis (part two)
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: What's My Line, Part 1 |
Buffy and Kendra go to Giles for assistance in explaining their situation. They learn that Kendra is the slayer who was 'called' when Buffy temporarily died in her fight with The Master in "Prophecy Girl". Their discussion reveals that Kendra had locked Angel in a cage, leaving him to be dusted at sunrise. Buffy and Kendra arrive to find only an empty cage; Buffy fears the worst, but Kendra points out the absence of dust.
Willy (the bar guy) had saved Angel from near-death, only to dump him in a sewer with Spike. Spike takes Angel back to the warehouse, where he will be held until he can be sacrificed to restore Drusilla to full strength. Drusilla asks Spike to let her torture Angel. Although Spike briefly hesitates, he soon smiles and agrees, unable to resist indulging her whims. Meanwhile, as Buffy ruminates on the co-existence of two slayers, she entertains the possibility of quitting and letting Kendra take over her Slayer duties.
Giles begins to bond professionally with Kendra, who seems to be more dedicated to her calling than Buffy, on a professional, intellectual and academic level. Xander and Cordelia face even bigger problems when they find that the salesman that Cordy let into the Summers' house is actually an assassin who can transform himself into thousands of mealworms. They run and hide in the basement, although before long they are fighting each other. After an unexpected kiss, Xander and Cordelia rush to escape the basement, running past the attacking worm-monster. At school, the career placement test has thrown Willow and Oz together, and they discuss their similar interests. Buffy, whose test results recommend a career in law enforcement, attends the career fair seminar to appease Principal Snyder. The police officer leading the seminar calls Buffy's name, but when Buffy identifies herself, the officer draws her gun and points it at the Slayer. Buffy avoids the bullet, which instead hits Oz as he pushed Willow out of harm's way. Kendra comes to Buffy's rescue, and they fight off the attacker. The Scoobies then gather in the library, where Giles announces that Spike intends for Angel to die in the ritual to restore Dru. Buffy angrily announces that Spike can do anything to her, but he had better not mess with her boyfriend.
Meanwhile, Angel is being tortured by Dru, both emotionally and physically; she pours holy water on him as she reminds him about how he killed her whole family. Spike comes in and announces that it is time for the ritual to begin. Angel taunts Spike with insinuations that Spike is unable to satisfy Dru, in hopes that Spike will kill him before he can be used to cure Dru. Spike is infuriated, but does not lose sight of the big picture. Meanwhile, Kendra gains a newfound respect for Buffy's qualities as a Slayer. Later, the Slayers go after Willy to learn what happened to Angel; they force Willy to take them to the location of Spike and Angel, but they arrive too late to prevent the ritual. Buffy attacks Spike to save Angel, and Kendra and the Scooby Gang arrive to back her up. Xander and Cordelia work together in the hallway to kill the worm assassin; since he can only be destroyed in his "disassembled state", they lure the worms underneath a door into a sticky trap. Willow and Giles work together to stake a vampire while Buffy and Kendra fight several of their own. Spike starts a fire and rushes to rescue the unconscious Dru, hoping that the ritual has had time to cure her. However, Buffy prevents their exit, crushing them in falling rubble. She rushes to the floor to help the weakened Angel, while everyone watches in awe, and she helps him exit the building.
Kendra exchanges parting words; she wears Buffy's shirt. She even tells Buffy she does not blame her for being with Angel, since he is "pretty cute", and that slaying is not a job, is a part of who they are. After her departure, Drusilla rises from the rubble, completely revived, and carries Spike out of the mess, promising to take care of him now...
Acting
Starring
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
- David Boreanaz as Angel
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
Guest starring
- Seth Green as Oz
- Saverio Guerra as Willy the Snitch
- Kelly Connell as Norman Pfister
- James Marsters as Spike
- Juliet Landau as Drusilla
- Armin Shimerman as Principal Snyder
- Bianca Lawson as Kendra
- Eric Saiet as Dalton
Co-starring
- Michael Rothhaar as Suitman
- P.B. Hutton as Mrs. Kalish
- Danny Strong as Jonathan Levinson
- Spice Williams-Crosby as Patrice
Production
- The hold of the plane in which Kendra arrived in Sunnydale was turned upside down and used as a sewer tunnel in later episodes.[1] The ice rink, called Iceland, is found at 8041 Jackson Street in Paramount, California, around 25 miles from where Buffy was filmed.[citation needed]
- Sarah Michelle Gellar is a fan of ice skating in real life, and lists ice skating as one of her hobbies,[2] which, according to writer Marti Noxon in the DVD commentary for the episode, is the reason ice skating was incorporated into the episode.
- Bianca Lawson commented on her accent during her stint on Buffy in an interview with SFX magazine:
I really hated that accent! I got the part, and I didn't originally have an accent. Then, literally the night before, they said, "What about a Jamaican accent?" So it's one of those things where, y'know, I just had to put it on tape, but I didn't have a chance to get comfortable with it. And the thing is, certain things - if you say it properly [in Jamaican patois], people don't really fully understand it, so they would change things. They'd say, "Well, say it like this" and it's like, "Would that be accurate in that accent though?" "It doesn't matter because no-one's going to understand you!" So different people were giving their interpretations of it. I was like "But everyone's going to think that I'm doing it wrong!" So personally, I wasn't happy with the accent!
- Seth Green mentioned in an Ultimate TV talk that the line "I mock you with my monkey pants" was initially dreamt by Alyson Hannigan. Joss Whedon decided to insert it in the episode. Marti Noxon said in her DVD commentary for the episode that all the lines after Oz's compliment about Willow's smile were ad-libbed by Seth and Alyson.
- At the end of the episode, Buffy warns Kendra to not watch movies with Chevy Chase or animals while on the airplane. This is likely a reference to the Chevy Chase movie Funny Farm, in which Gellar had a small, uncredited role.
- This episode is later referenced in the Season 8 issue, "Time of Your Life", when Buffy tells Melaka Fray's sister she "...thought about being a cop. A law. In high school. I took a test, said I fit the profile." after Buffy's career test results recommend a career in law enforcement for her.
- Spike was originally to be killed in this episode but Joss Whedon decided to keep him and merely paralyze him.
Music
- Vivaldi - "Spring" from The Four Seasons.
Cultural references
- Dorothy Hamill: When Buffy talks about a "Dorothy Hamill phase," she means ice-skating since Hamill was an American ice-skater who won a gold medal in the 1976 Winter olympics.
- Seattle-Tacoma International Airport: The software recruiter says to Willow, "The jet was delayed by fog at Sea-Tac, but he should be here any minute."
- The Simpsons: Buffy says to Giles "Have a cow, Giles." She is playing on The Simpsons phrase used by Bart Simpson, "don't have a cow" (which means "don't get worked up").
- What's My Line?: An American game show which ran from 1950 to 1975. Celebrity panelists tried to guess the unusual occupations of contestants through yes-or-no questions. The U.K. version featured the contestants miming their jobs.
- My Fair Lady: After Dalton has a success, Spike says "By George, I think he's got it," playing on Henry Higgins' (played by Rex Harrison) singing line "By George, she's got it! I think she's got it!"
- White Noise: Principal Snyder tells Xander "Whatever comes out of your mouth is a meaningless waste of breath, an airborne toxic event," which is a reference to the "Airborne Toxic Event" that Jack Gladney was exposed to in Don DeLillo's 1985 novel, White Noise.
- Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: When Kendra challenges Willow, Buffy says "Back off, Pink Ranger".
- The Beatles:: When Xander finds out the identity of the mealworm assassain, he references the Beatles song, "I Am the Walrus".
Reception
Part one pulled in 3.5 million households on its original airing, while part two had an audience of 3.9 million households.[3]
Continuity
Arc significance
- This episode introduces the character of Kendra, the first vampire slayer besides Buffy to be featured on the show.
- Buffy's death in "Prophecy Girl" activating a new slayer (thus allowing there to be two slayers) will remain important throughout the series, especially after the introduction of Faith.
- Willow and Oz finally meet - having almost done so in previous episodes "Inca Mummy Girl" and "Halloween"
- The term "Scooby Gang" is used for the first time, when Xander tells Cordelia, "You want to be a member of the Scooby Gang, you gotta be willing to be inconvenienced every now and then."
- Willy’s Place is seen for the first time. The bar also appears in many other episodes including "Amends", "The Zeppo", "Goodbye Iowa" and "Family".
- The bespectacled vampire, Dalton, later appears in "Surprise" and is killed by the Judge.
- Darla asks Angel in the season one episode "Angel", if he believes Buffy would ever be able to kiss his 'real face'. She does in this episode.
- Cordelia and Xander kiss for the first time.
Translations
Translated versions of this episode are entitled:
- French title: "Kendra" ("Kendra")
- Italian title: "L'unione fa la forza" ("Togetherness is strength")
- German title: "Die Rivalin" ("The rival (fem.)") and "Das Ritual" ("The Ritual")
- Japanese title: "バフィーの運命" ("Bafī no Unmei" - "Buffy's Fate")
- Spanish title: "¿Qué es lo mío?" (Roughly "What's my part? (as in a part of a play)")
External links
Part One
- "What's My Line?: Part 1" at the Internet Movie Database
- "What's My Line? (1)" at TV.com
- Soulful Spike Society analysis of "What's My Line, Part 1"
Part Two
- "What's My Line?: Part 2" at the Internet Movie Database
- "What's My Line? (2)" at TV.com
- Soulful Spike Society analysis of "What's My Line, Part 2
References
- ^ Golden, Christopher; Holder, Nancy, "The Watcher's Guide, Volume 1 (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)", Simon & Schuster, pp. 95, http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0613633652/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-0350059-5613769#
- ^ Episode Guide: What's My Line Part One, BBC, http://www.bbc.co.uk/cult/buffy/indetail/whatsmylineone/trivia.shtml
- ^ "Nielsen Ratings for Buffy's Second Season." <http://home.insightbb.com/~wahoskem/buffy2.html>
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