In this episode!

• Katherine and Mark love that Whedon once again subverts our assumptions about horror tropes—Sid is NOT the demon! (And isn’t it cool that he knew a previous Slayer?)
• Katherine likes that there is reaffirmation that there is good everywhere, and Mark points out that there are demons and vampires everywhere, especially Cleveland. Mark thinks this explains Voinovich, Katherine thinks it explains Kasich, and Mark argues Cleveland is not part of Ohio.
• Shout outs to Warren Shaver, Becky Clark, Sheila Strong, and Bella Olivo.
• Katherine thinks while this is clearly a Buffy episode, it also has a different feel. What do you podcast listeners think?
• Willow and Xander had adlibs that were added to the episode. Did you spot them?
• Katherine talks about Dante and Stephen King.
• Giles said, “A person driven to kill is more complex than a demon.” Katherine questions if this is always true, and argues that humans can be evil. She doesn’t agree with Giles on this point. Mark suggests that the reason Buffy is allowed to kill vampires and demons is because they have no soul. Katherine and Mark argue over conscience and the ability to make choices and the philosophy of the Whedonverse. This is huge, people, and we would love your feedback. We’ll be talking about this a lot as the series progresses. Clearly, we now need a theologian (cool! I know one!) and a philosopher.
• Mark did not want to discuss the Monroe Doctrine. Sigh.
• Mark brings up race in Buffy, and Katherine shares that many academics are concerned with this issue and says that it will be addressed later. (Note to our listeners: we plan on at least two episodes with guests talking about issues of race in Buffy.)

Cleveland Hellmouth Listeners! Three more important points!

1. Next week, we will present the episode “Nightmares” with special guest Laurie K. who is an expert on dream interviewing. It will be so fun!
2. Also, we are still debating whether or not to rank episodes each season. We would love to hear how you would rate these episodes (or if you even have any desire to). Let us know what you think.
3. Finally, Katherine has created a page on rules in Buffy. Check it out and feel free to suggest some of your own.

Resources

Oedipus Rex by Sophocles (not Shakespeare)

The Shining by Stephen King. Katherine prefers the novel to the movie.

Dante’s Inferno

The Monroe Doctrine

The Usual Suspects: a great movie

Chaos Bleeds: a non-canonical Buffy video game