Jenny Calendar: A Retrospective

In addition to my previous apologies for sparse posting, I'd like to apologize for the fact that a very early draft of this post went up a couple of weeks ago. And by very early draft I mean rough notes. And by rough notes I mean a single rough note. The post was meant to be an empty placeholder just as a reminder to myself of its place in the schedule, but I accidentally scheduled it to automatically post. Oops.

This post is meant to be just a brief retrospective on the character of Jenny Calendar, something I thought it might be nice to do for a character on their "final" appearance. Some characters either die or leave the show and then return later as a dream, ghost, flashback, or some other cameo, and even though we're actually going to see the character at least one more time in at least one of these forms, I thought now seemed like the appropriate time to comment a bit on her place in the story and her exit from it.

Just a couple of notes:

First order of business:

I'm going to get back to writing reviews again soon, really. I assure you that I have every intention of seeing The Whedoning through to its conclusion, but I fully recognize (as I hope you do too) that the schedule was only ever a guideline and it may well take quite a bit longer. And I also have a few posts lined up which contain some Buffy-related content other than reviews. You'll just have to wait and see about that.

And... other order of business:

In the mean time, you may be interested to know that my podcast The Cloister Room (of which this blog is ostensibly a side project) has finally begun to release new episodes. These are a lot of work to put together. I learned long ago that whether you're writing, making a video, or making an audio production, editing is where the magic happens, and it's also where a lot of hard work happens. But I'm really proud of the first episode and I'm hard at work putting together the second episode.

So I guess that's about it for now.

Buffy 2x18 - "Killed by Death"

After an extremely dark episode, which advanced the ongoing story arc a lot, we get something a little more standalone and less dark. It's a strange occasion when an episode about a monster that murders sick children can be described as "less dark." Anyhow, more after the break.

Buffy 2x17 - "Passion"

Just when you think the tension can't get any higher, Buffy surprises you with a frightening and dramatic look at the depths of Angel's obsession... or as he calls it, "passion." More after the jump.

Buffy 2x16 - "Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered"

"Bewitched, Bothered and Bewildered" is an episode composed mostly of frivolous fun and a horribly cumbersone title. However, as is common on Buffy, the fun leads to some interesting character moments, as we get some nice developments in Xander's relationship with Cordelia. More after the jump!

Buffy 2x15 - "Phases"

EDIT: [ by a bizarre coincidence, this review was posted on the full moon. How weird is that? You might think I planned it that way, but I'm nowhere near smart enough (or organized enough) for that. ]

While Buffy's love life has taken a turn for the absolute worst, the Cordelia/Xander/Willow/Oz love trapezoid has now been fully activated, and this episode features the show's first earnest attempt to work through it. As if that weren't enough, it features an exciting standalone plot and some interesting subtext regarding issues of masculinity. It's just a pity the werewolf looks so lame. More after the jump.

Buffy 2x14 - "Innocence"

My complaint about "Surprise," that none of its numerous constituent parts seem to go anywhere, is rectified more or less completely in "Innocence." Not only do all of the threads of the previous episode bear fruit, but they all collide and intersect in deceptively complex ways, without getting in the way of the episode's considerable emotional weight. More after the jump.