Why Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s First Willow Episode is So Unpopular
Buffy the Vampire Slayer‘s first Willow-centric episode was, and still is, deeply unpopular. For a show with 144 episodes, Buffy the Vampire Slayer has relatively few genuinely terrible or wasted episodes. Most are in the show’s earliest seasons, as Buffy was still finding its footing and tone, fitting itself into an episodic, “monster-of-the-week” structure before it became more serialized from the end of season 2 onwards.
Despite its flaws, the show’s first 12-episode season proved Buffy the Vampire Slayer could be great; the finale perfectly captures Buffy’s struggle with her destiny and duty as the Slayer, which becomes a major part of her character arc in later seasons. Still, not every main character had such a great showing in season 1. The show’s first Xander-centric story in episode 4, “Teacher’s Pet,” for instance, is a messy, uncomfortable affair (literally), as the terminally unlucky Xander falls for his teacher, who turns out to be a giant, man-eating praying mantis.
Willow’s first spotlight story in “I, Robot… You, Jane,” suffers from a similar focus on the future witch’s love life. Four episodes after Xander’s bug-riddled mess, Willow chats with an ancient demon who’s accidentally been sucked into the internet and falls for his online alter ego, Malcolm. It’s the lowest-rated episode of the season on IMDB with a score of 606, 0.1 lower than “Teacher’s Pet.”
It’s also one of the lowest-rated episodes of Buffy on IMDB as a whole, higher only than Buffy and Riley’s infamous sexual escapades in season 4, episode 18, “Where The Wild Things Are,” and bizarre beer-infused Neanderthal story of season 4, episode 5, “Beer Bad,” both of which hold a score of 6.3.
Buffy The Vampire Slayer’s “I, Robot… You, Jane” Was Bad At The Time And Is Even Worse Now
“I Robot… You, Jane” is one of Buffy the Vampire Slayer’s schlockiest episodes, an inconsistent mess that does Willow’s character a real disservice. For someone as brilliant, computer-literate, and recently demon-savvy as Willow, it’s hard to believe she would so easily let herself be led on by a stranger in a chat room. Of course, no one is perfect, and part of Willow’s early characterization involves her feeling inferior to Buffy and pining after Xander. Still, this episode takes it too far.
The demon Moloch may be seductive, as the episode’s somewhat pointless cold open tries and ultimately fails to establish – the episode never really explores what kind of magical factor makes him so desirable aside from him telling everyone he loves them, especially once he’s trapped online – but Willow has zero autonomy. It doesn’t help that the episode ends with a newly formed robotic Moloch taking on Buffy in what amounts to one of the show’s least impressive action sequences, turning the story from something with actual (if superficial) insight into a meandering dud.
It’s a shame, because the basic premise of “I, Robot… You, Jane” was surprisingly forward-thinking: an episode about the dangers of online dating and catfishing before the term was popularized by Nev and Ariel Schulman’s documentary, aptly titled Catfish, in 2010. Sadly, this insight is lost beneath incredibly corny dialogue – who can forget the infamous line “If you’re not jacked in, you’re not alive“? It’s like listening to a present-day LinkedIn post – and strange characterization.
Thankfully, Jenny Calendar’s introduction, her flirtatious banter with Giles, and the episode’s depressingly hilarious final sting, in which our favorite Sunnydale High trio tragically predict the heartbreak of their upcoming romances, somewhat redeem an otherwise forgettable and inconsequential adventure. Monster-of-the-week episodes can be really fun when done right. This wasn’t one of them.
Willow Quickly Recovered After Her First Focal Episode Was A Miss
Despite a shaky first focal episode, Willow quickly became one of Buffy‘s most interesting, complex, and important characters. Better yet, the show builds on the insecurities Willow displays in “I, Robot… You, Jane” and the rest of season 1 and makes them matter to her development and future story arcs, rather than continually using them as a cheap way to lure her into painfully obvious demon traps.
For most of the series, Willow is driven by her insecurities; she fears being abandoned by Buffy and Xander and becoming disposable. It’s what drives her as a computer geek and later as a witch. As long as she has knowledge and power, she’ll be useful. As long as she has knowledge and power, those who love her will never leave her. Willow, perhaps more than characters like Buffy and Giles, feels painfully human; deeply flawed and well-rounded in a way few other Buffy the Vampire Slayer (and wider Buffyverse) characters ever were.
Original article at ScreenRant
