To be fair, ANY monster-of-the-week episode situated between "I Only Have Eyes for You" and "Becoming Part 1" would be frustrating. The Angelus and Buffy story arc, arguably BTVS's most important story ever, is coming to a head. Buffy has finally reconciled with the idea of killing Angelus, Spike is secretly free of the wheelchair, Jenny's disc is just waiting to be discovered ... And "Go Fish" ignores ALL of it. Watching on DVD, it is pretty easy to just skip this episode and immerse yourself in the artistry of the two part season finale. It's not that "Go Fish" is a horrible episode, it's just... Frustrating. It doesn't really contribute anything to the seasons's story arc or to the motivations of the characters. It's just a below-average monster of the week and its placement makes its defects all the more apparent.
The story centers on the Sunnydale High's swim team, who are suddenly on their way to the state championships. Yes... The team has been preforming incredibly well and everyone is thrilled that the school could soon be known for something other than its staggering mortality rate. Being Sunnydale, though, it's a sure bet that the team's winning record has a little bit of supernatural fixing. Soon the bodies of swimmers start popping up and it seems as if someone's murdering the team one boy at a time. Xander goes undercover on the swim team. Willow starts questioning suspects. (Specifically Jonathan. His criminal plans will improve dramatically later in the series, but for now they're just... icky.) Buffy follows the team members around, alternately beating them up, protecting them,and reading upside-down fashion magazines. Its not their most daring investigation, but it gets the job done. It turns out that the team is being transformed into fish monsters, thanks to their coach's secret Soviet steroid gas. The Scoobies have to stop him and save the swimmers,... making it a pretty typical day in Sunnydale.
"Go Fish" does have some good parts. It has a pretty heavy handed anti-drug message, which gets to be a bit much. But, Xander "subtling" questioning the swim team as to where they get their steroids is pretty funny. I do like the episode's subtext on the preferential treatment of student athletes in a school. Willow works so hard to take over Jenny's job and get good grades, but Snyder's only interested in winning the state championship. Cordy, meanwhile, is delighted to finally be dating a "winner," even if Xander is the same guy he's always been under the speedo. And I love Jonathan. He's the perpetual outsider, always trying to fit in and always being rejected even by the unpopular kids. Think of how different seasons six and seven would be if the Scoobies had taken him under their wings in this episode and given him a place to belong.
Team work is another theme of "Go Fish" and, indeed, a continuing theme of BTVS. Snyder and the swimming coach lecture everyone about the importance of teamwork. But it's the Scoobies who successfully work together. More and more, they are taking on individual responsibilities in their investigations. Buffy may be the Slayer, but she couldn't do it without the help of the Scoobies. Unfortunately, their teamwork is going to lead down a dark road in the season finale, where horrible timing, self-justified lies and tragic misunderstandings all contribute to the heartbreaking end of "Becoming Part Two."
"Go Fish" had some genuine faults, aside from it's placement in the season. I don't like the Soviet Union DNA experiment explanation for the swim team's transformation. It's kind of cheese-y. Also, I think that this may be the only time that we see a vampire tasting drugs in someone's system. Why is that never mentioned again? Is Angelus tasting the monster-y fish thing that's about to emerge or the steroids themselves? If vampire's can really taste drugs, then it's a shame Spike doesn't test Buffy like that when she thinks that she's in a mental institution in season six's "Normal Again." Or when Riley's all pumped full of super-pills in season four's "The 'I' In Team." Just a thought.
My favorite part of the episode: Gage turning to Buffy after he's attacked by Angelus, "Would you walk me home?"
The story centers on the Sunnydale High's swim team, who are suddenly on their way to the state championships. Yes... The team has been preforming incredibly well and everyone is thrilled that the school could soon be known for something other than its staggering mortality rate. Being Sunnydale, though, it's a sure bet that the team's winning record has a little bit of supernatural fixing. Soon the bodies of swimmers start popping up and it seems as if someone's murdering the team one boy at a time. Xander goes undercover on the swim team. Willow starts questioning suspects. (Specifically Jonathan. His criminal plans will improve dramatically later in the series, but for now they're just... icky.) Buffy follows the team members around, alternately beating them up, protecting them,and reading upside-down fashion magazines. Its not their most daring investigation, but it gets the job done. It turns out that the team is being transformed into fish monsters, thanks to their coach's secret Soviet steroid gas. The Scoobies have to stop him and save the swimmers,... making it a pretty typical day in Sunnydale.
"Go Fish" does have some good parts. It has a pretty heavy handed anti-drug message, which gets to be a bit much. But, Xander "subtling" questioning the swim team as to where they get their steroids is pretty funny. I do like the episode's subtext on the preferential treatment of student athletes in a school. Willow works so hard to take over Jenny's job and get good grades, but Snyder's only interested in winning the state championship. Cordy, meanwhile, is delighted to finally be dating a "winner," even if Xander is the same guy he's always been under the speedo. And I love Jonathan. He's the perpetual outsider, always trying to fit in and always being rejected even by the unpopular kids. Think of how different seasons six and seven would be if the Scoobies had taken him under their wings in this episode and given him a place to belong.
Team work is another theme of "Go Fish" and, indeed, a continuing theme of BTVS. Snyder and the swimming coach lecture everyone about the importance of teamwork. But it's the Scoobies who successfully work together. More and more, they are taking on individual responsibilities in their investigations. Buffy may be the Slayer, but she couldn't do it without the help of the Scoobies. Unfortunately, their teamwork is going to lead down a dark road in the season finale, where horrible timing, self-justified lies and tragic misunderstandings all contribute to the heartbreaking end of "Becoming Part Two."
"Go Fish" had some genuine faults, aside from it's placement in the season. I don't like the Soviet Union DNA experiment explanation for the swim team's transformation. It's kind of cheese-y. Also, I think that this may be the only time that we see a vampire tasting drugs in someone's system. Why is that never mentioned again? Is Angelus tasting the monster-y fish thing that's about to emerge or the steroids themselves? If vampire's can really taste drugs, then it's a shame Spike doesn't test Buffy like that when she thinks that she's in a mental institution in season six's "Normal Again." Or when Riley's all pumped full of super-pills in season four's "The 'I' In Team." Just a thought.
My favorite part of the episode: Gage turning to Buffy after he's attacked by Angelus, "Would you walk me home?"
