In my previous post, I had written about my love for Kennedy and why. So for this piece, I thought it would be appropriate to give my fairly short opinion on an episode that she featured heavily in, "The Killer in Me". As it is a Willow-centric episode, I will be specifically focusing on Willow's character and her relationship with Kennedy.
Like many episodes in season seven, "The Killer in Me" is not a very popular one. A lot of fans dislike it because not only does it feature plenty of the much loathed Kennedy, but its plot is largely about her relationship with Willow. The biggest critics of the episode are Willow and Tara fans, which is understandable. However, as much as I liked Willow and Tara as a couple, I preferred seeing Willow and Kennedy together. As I mentioned in my Kennedy piece, she is my favourite side character, so naturally, I cherish "The Killer in Me".
Like many episodes in season seven, "The Killer in Me" is not a very popular one. A lot of fans dislike it because not only does it feature plenty of the much loathed Kennedy, but its plot is largely about her relationship with Willow. The biggest critics of the episode are Willow and Tara fans, which is understandable. However, as much as I liked Willow and Tara as a couple, I preferred seeing Willow and Kennedy together. As I mentioned in my Kennedy piece, she is my favourite side character, so naturally, I cherish "The Killer in Me".
My love for the episode largely stems from the psychological perspective of it. We get an undeniably interesting look into Willow's psyche and her subconscious mind. The latter especially is what I would say is the most important thing about the episode; in Willow's own words, her "witchy subconscious". Interestingly, her subconscious mind also plays a pivotal part in season four's hilarious "Something Blue". However, three seasons and four episodes later, Willow had undergone a lot of changes, one of which being the sheer amount of power she now had at this point in the series. We saw from the Dark Willow arc at the end of season six just what she was capable of. It is because of her actions at the end of season six, particularly when she killed Warren in "Villains" that she felt extremely guilty. Her guilt was a centre point for the episode, "Conversations with Dead People", 6 episodes prior to "The Killer in Me". But it truly reaches breaking point in the latter episode when she shares a kiss with Kennedy and activates a hex implemented by an extremely jealous Amy. Willow's subconscious mind had selected the punishment from the hex, and it was activated due to her feeling as if she had betrayed Tara by kissing Kennedy. We see Willow gradually turn into a murderous misogynist and she is fully aware of it happening. Naturally, this comes with disastrous consequences that prove to almost be fatal.
From a technical perspective, the way the episode is executed is fantastic, with alternating sequences between Willow in Warren's body and vice versa. Alyson Hannigan and Adam Busch deserve a lot more recognition for those scenes than people give them. The Willow/Warren perspective was completely unique to "Buffy" and it was a real treat to watch.
The episode starts off humourously, with lighthearted banter between Buffy and Giles, but it ends on a sad, yet hopeful note. There are plenty of funny moments throughout the whole episode, my favourite being when Willow first turns into Warren and Kennedy backs off and knocks a lamp over, to which Willow in Warren's body responds with, "I'm not used to literally knocking girls off of their feet with just the power of my own lips.". Whilst the episode has a blatant fairytale-esque theme running through it, I believe that it is an episode about moving on from grief and learning to open one's heart again.
An episode of "Buffy" not featuring vampires (despite its namesake) was not rare, but what I absolutely love about "The Killer in Me" is how there wasn't a great big battle between good and evil, it was simply Willow dealing with her own mind and emotions. Much of season 6 had that same theme, but this time, Willow was not an addict hurting her friends, she was guilt-ridden and grieving.
To me, the events in "The Killer in Me" played an important part in Willow's later evolution in the series finale, "Chosen", along with "Conversations with Dead People", which I had previously mentioned. Unlike the aforementioned episode, though, "The Killer in Me" was all about Willow taking the final big step in overcoming her grief and being able to move on. Willow's metaphorical wounds were helped taken care of by Kennedy. After all, it was Kennedy who truly spoke to Willow and managed to break the curse; not with fancy magick, but with her unyielding support and determination.
Not only did the episode give a brilliant insight into Willow, but it also gave us a good insight into Kennedy. Kennedy was shown to be rather nurturing and gentle towards Willow in the episode, particularly in the final scene. Linking into my previous piece about Kennedy, once again, we saw her being protective when she faced Amy.
Finally, I couldn't help but notice an interesting pattern about the scene in which Warren/Willow threatens Kennedy with a gun... all three of Willow's main lovers had guns pulled on them. Willow had shot Oz back in season two's "Phases" and of course, Tara had been fatally shot in season six's "Seeing Red". I am certain that it was intentional.
From a technical perspective, the way the episode is executed is fantastic, with alternating sequences between Willow in Warren's body and vice versa. Alyson Hannigan and Adam Busch deserve a lot more recognition for those scenes than people give them. The Willow/Warren perspective was completely unique to "Buffy" and it was a real treat to watch.
The episode starts off humourously, with lighthearted banter between Buffy and Giles, but it ends on a sad, yet hopeful note. There are plenty of funny moments throughout the whole episode, my favourite being when Willow first turns into Warren and Kennedy backs off and knocks a lamp over, to which Willow in Warren's body responds with, "I'm not used to literally knocking girls off of their feet with just the power of my own lips.". Whilst the episode has a blatant fairytale-esque theme running through it, I believe that it is an episode about moving on from grief and learning to open one's heart again.
An episode of "Buffy" not featuring vampires (despite its namesake) was not rare, but what I absolutely love about "The Killer in Me" is how there wasn't a great big battle between good and evil, it was simply Willow dealing with her own mind and emotions. Much of season 6 had that same theme, but this time, Willow was not an addict hurting her friends, she was guilt-ridden and grieving.
To me, the events in "The Killer in Me" played an important part in Willow's later evolution in the series finale, "Chosen", along with "Conversations with Dead People", which I had previously mentioned. Unlike the aforementioned episode, though, "The Killer in Me" was all about Willow taking the final big step in overcoming her grief and being able to move on. Willow's metaphorical wounds were helped taken care of by Kennedy. After all, it was Kennedy who truly spoke to Willow and managed to break the curse; not with fancy magick, but with her unyielding support and determination.
Not only did the episode give a brilliant insight into Willow, but it also gave us a good insight into Kennedy. Kennedy was shown to be rather nurturing and gentle towards Willow in the episode, particularly in the final scene. Linking into my previous piece about Kennedy, once again, we saw her being protective when she faced Amy.
Finally, I couldn't help but notice an interesting pattern about the scene in which Warren/Willow threatens Kennedy with a gun... all three of Willow's main lovers had guns pulled on them. Willow had shot Oz back in season two's "Phases" and of course, Tara had been fatally shot in season six's "Seeing Red". I am certain that it was intentional.
That is just about all of my thoughts on the episode. I would even say that it is in my top ten list of favourites, what can I say? I'm a sucker for fluffy romance! I hope you've enjoyed reading my opinion on "The Killer in Me", is anybody else a fan of the episode? Let me know!
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