Buffy the Vampire Slayer/What's My Line? (2)

What's My Line? (2)
Season 2, Episode 10
Airdate	November 24, 1997
Production Number	5V10
Written by	Marti Noxon
Directed by	David Semel
← 2x09 What's My Line? (1)	2x11 → Ted
Buffy the Vampire Slayer — Season Two

What's My Line? (2) is the tenth episode of the second season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and the twenty-second episode overall.

Sarah Michelle Gellar (Buffy Summers), Nicholas Brendon (Xander Harris), Alyson Hannigan (Willow Rosenberg), Charisma Carpenter (Cordelia Chase), David Boreanaz (Angel)

and Anthony Stewart Head (Giles)

Guest Starring: Seth Green (Oz), Saverio Guerra (Willy), Kelly Connell (Norman Pfister), Bianca Lawson (Kendra), James Marsters (Spike), Juliet Landau (Drusilla)

Co-Starring: Danny Strong (Hostage Kid)

Uncredited: Spice Williams (Patrice)

Plot Overview

The revelation of a new Slayer relieves Buffy of worry of her duties, but she soon finds herself back in battle when she discovers that Spike has taken Angel who is the key to curing Drusilla. The two Slayers must coordinate their methods to stop the upcoming ritual.

Notes

Monster of the Week

This episode finishes the storyline from the previous episode. Its monsters are still the assassins, Spike and Drusilla.

Body Count

#	Whom	By Whom	How	Where
1	Vampire	Giles	Shot by Crossbow	Church
2	Norman Pfister	Xander and Cordelia	Stomped	Church
3	Vampire	Willow	Staked	Church

Arc Advancement

Happenings

• Slayer Lore: The time between the death of a slayer and the activation of a new girl in the line is apparently immediate. This is made evident by the fact that Kendra was activated as a slayer in the minute of death that she experienced. Also of note is the fact that there is a "Slayer Handbook" which Giles decided wouldn't be of use after meeting Buffy. He doesn't expand on why, but it likely has something to do with her problems with authority.

  Kendra's story is much more typical for a slayer, particularly noting that she gave up friends, parents and any other connection to the world outside of slaying. Of note, she doesn't remember her parents because she was sent away at such a young age to her watcher when she was called.

• Ritual: The exact ritual for Drusilla's resurrection plays out in this episode. On either a full or new moon (Giles and Spike conflict each other), the vampire in need of healing must be bound to his or her sire inside a church. After the instigator of the ritual recites a verse, he takes the knife hidden in De Luc's cross and stabs both vampires through their hands. As the sire bleeds to death, his blood rejuvenates the weak vampire.

Characters

• Xander and Cordelia: Xander and Cordelia's turbulent relationship, which is clearly borne out of hatred for each other, begins in this episode.

Referbacks

• 1x12 - Prophecy Girl: Buffy was, indeed, killed by The Master during the first season finale. She drowned in a small underground lake in an abandoned church deep underground, although she was mysteriously revived, feeling "stronger."

Giles: She drowned, she was revived.

• 1x03 - The Witch: It has been mentioned in the past that Buffy was a cheerleader at her old school in Los Angeles. She briefly entertained the notion of picking the sport back up when she came to Sunnydale, but she was dissuaded when a girl possessed by her mother started mystically attacking girls who made the cut onto the team.

Giles: No, she had to give up her cheerleading. It's quite an amusing story, really.

• 1x04 - Teacher's Pet: Xander's first involvement with a bug person came when he was attracted by a praying mantis demon posing as his substitute teacher. The demon later imprisoned him and attempted to mate with and eventually kill him.

Buffy: You and bugs, Xander. what's up with that?

Trivia

The Show

• The Man's Chord: Oz tells Willow that his ambition is to master the E flat diminished ninth chord, otherwise annotated as E♭dim9. The chord is possible to pull off, although it is, as he says, very difficult. On a fretboard, the chord pattern would be: Eb-G-Bb-Db-Fb-(Open).

Goofs

• Cordelia picks a worm out of her hair and runs out of the library, past Kendra. When Kendra's back is to the camera, her arms are behind her back, but they are folded in front of her when it cuts to the next shot.

• When Xander shuts the book on the worm, the cover is different in the distant shot than it is in the close up.

• After Kendra opens the door to the taxi, the scene alternates between two shots, one of which is over Kendra's right shoulder. In this shot, her hair is slung over the shoulder. Yet, in the other shot, her hair switches between over the shoulder and behind her neck.

Quotes

• Kendra: They call me Kendra. I have no last name, sir.

Buffy: Can you say "stuck in the 80's"?

• Willow: There's a Slayer handbook?

Buffy: Wait. Handbook? What handbook? How come I don't have a handbook?

Willow: Is there a T-shirt, too? 'Cause that would be cool.

• Xander: Who sponsored career day today? The British Soccer Fan Association?

• Buffy: You and bug people, Xander. What's up with that?

Xander: No, but this dude was completely different than praying mantis lady. He was a man of bugs. Not a man who was a bug.

• Buffy: Angel. He's Drusilla's sire.

Xander: Man, that guy got major neck in his day!

• Willow: Don't worry, Buffy, we'll save Angel.

Kendra: Angel? But our priority is to stop Drusilla.

Xander: Angel's our friend! Except I don't like him.

• Kendra: Did anyone explain to you what "secret identity" means?

Buffy: Nope. Must be in the handbook. Right after the chapter on personality removal.

• Spike: I'll see him die soon enough. I've never been much for the pre-show.

Angel: Too bad. That's what Drusilla likes best as I recall.

Spike: What's that supposed to mean?

Angel: Ask her. She knows what I mean.

Spike: Well?

Drusilla: (to Angel) Shhhhh. Rrrrrruf. Bad dog.

• Kendra: You talk about slaying like it's a job. It's not. It's who you are.

Buffy: Did you get that from your handbook?

Kendra: From you.