This episode is set-up to be off-center. Rather than watching Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies battle an evil apocalypse cult, we follow Xander on some fun, lesser adventures. He wanders around town, getting into trouble of his own, while the others have important, heartfelt conversations and fight multi-headed monsters. The "end of the world" sub-plot is suppose to be a joke. It's deliberately played as overly dramatic and vague. We basically only understand what Xander does about it... And he doesn't understand much. Honestly, the plot of "The Zeppo" is hard to explain. But, it is a really funny and creative episode. It makes Xander the center of attention and the rest of the characters' problems secondary. I highly recommend it.
The episode revolves around Xander's desire to be cool. Desperate to find something that makes him special, he borrows his Uncle Rory's car and sets out for a night of fun. Meanwhile, the Scoobies are dealing with a female apocalypse cult who are out to open the Hellmouth and destroy the world. Worried that Xander will get hurt in the fight, the Scoobies try to keep him out of the investigation. However, Xander winds up in trouble of his own when he meets up with Sunnydale bully Jack O'Tool. Jack has soon swept Xander up in a scheme to raise the dead.
It seems Jack's part of a gang, that's members have the bad habit of dying. Luckily for them, Jack's Grand-Pappy knows a little bit of magic and the stars are aligned for a little resurrection spell. Soon the whole gang's reunited and ready to start having some un-dead fun "baking a cake." Which, in zombie-gang speak means "building a bomb." With the Scoobie's busy saving the world, Xander has to stop O'Tool on his own. Along the way he runs into Faith and the two of them end up sleeping together. Then it's off to Sunnydale High, where Xander has to defuse the bomb and the Scoobies work to stop the Hellmouth from opening.
There's a lot to like about this episode. Xander's attempts to be "cool" are just hilarious. From the crazy blond woman who's only interested in riding his drunken Uncle Rory's car, to his 'rassling with "Katie" and O'Tool, to his reluctance to join the zombie gang... It's all just great. And the writing in this episode is top-notch. Every once in awhile, we switch from Xander's point-of-view, to the Scoobies dramatically gasping that this is the worst monster that they've ever faced. How will they survive? How can they possibly stop it in time? What will they do? **cue the suspenseful music** And then we switch back to Xander driving around in his convertible. REALLY funny.
The end of "The Zeppo" is especially wonderful, with the Scoobies fighting to close the Hellmouth, the zombie gang chasing Xander through the halls, a bomb ticking in the basement and Oz locked up as a werewolf. It all plays off each other so well. And you have to laugh when Xander tells O'Tool-the-Zombie that they'll both die if the bomb goes off, "And this isn't walking around drinking with your buddies dead..." And I like that Xander finally discovers his own coolness in the end. It's not an outside thing that he has to buy or a group he has to join, it's about believing in himself. He doesn't even have to tell anybody about his adventure, because HE knows the truth. It's a lesson that Xander has to learn again and again. It's not easy being the "normal" one in a group of super-powered friends.
On the downside, isn't it Buffy's job to get the donuts while the Scoobies research? I thought that Xander praised her for going on snack runs in "Suprise." He and Willow are always the ones who get stuck with actual book duty. Also, Xander really does help the Scoobies a lot of times. He came up with the rocket-launcher plan for the Judge in "Innocnce", he rescued Giles in "Becoming Part Two, he discovered the swim team's secret in "Go Fish," etc... I think the rest of the Scoobies are selling him short in this episode. And as far as Jack's resurrection spell... It seems to work really well. Maybe, Dawn and the Scoobies should have talked to his Grand-Pappy in season five's "Forever" and season six's "The Barginning." On a nit-picky note, the first scene of the cafeteria in "The Zeppo" is a shot re-used from the episode "I Only Have Eyes for You." And the fact that I recognized it, is a sad indication that I'm hopelessly addicted to this show.
My favorite part of the episode: Buffy and Angel's melodramatic, tear-soaked, self-sacrificing, "I'll always love you" scene. The amazed looks on their faces when Xander walks in and interrupts their speech-ifying are truly priceless.
The episode revolves around Xander's desire to be cool. Desperate to find something that makes him special, he borrows his Uncle Rory's car and sets out for a night of fun. Meanwhile, the Scoobies are dealing with a female apocalypse cult who are out to open the Hellmouth and destroy the world. Worried that Xander will get hurt in the fight, the Scoobies try to keep him out of the investigation. However, Xander winds up in trouble of his own when he meets up with Sunnydale bully Jack O'Tool. Jack has soon swept Xander up in a scheme to raise the dead.
It seems Jack's part of a gang, that's members have the bad habit of dying. Luckily for them, Jack's Grand-Pappy knows a little bit of magic and the stars are aligned for a little resurrection spell. Soon the whole gang's reunited and ready to start having some un-dead fun "baking a cake." Which, in zombie-gang speak means "building a bomb." With the Scoobie's busy saving the world, Xander has to stop O'Tool on his own. Along the way he runs into Faith and the two of them end up sleeping together. Then it's off to Sunnydale High, where Xander has to defuse the bomb and the Scoobies work to stop the Hellmouth from opening.
There's a lot to like about this episode. Xander's attempts to be "cool" are just hilarious. From the crazy blond woman who's only interested in riding his drunken Uncle Rory's car, to his 'rassling with "Katie" and O'Tool, to his reluctance to join the zombie gang... It's all just great. And the writing in this episode is top-notch. Every once in awhile, we switch from Xander's point-of-view, to the Scoobies dramatically gasping that this is the worst monster that they've ever faced. How will they survive? How can they possibly stop it in time? What will they do? **cue the suspenseful music** And then we switch back to Xander driving around in his convertible. REALLY funny.
The end of "The Zeppo" is especially wonderful, with the Scoobies fighting to close the Hellmouth, the zombie gang chasing Xander through the halls, a bomb ticking in the basement and Oz locked up as a werewolf. It all plays off each other so well. And you have to laugh when Xander tells O'Tool-the-Zombie that they'll both die if the bomb goes off, "And this isn't walking around drinking with your buddies dead..." And I like that Xander finally discovers his own coolness in the end. It's not an outside thing that he has to buy or a group he has to join, it's about believing in himself. He doesn't even have to tell anybody about his adventure, because HE knows the truth. It's a lesson that Xander has to learn again and again. It's not easy being the "normal" one in a group of super-powered friends.
On the downside, isn't it Buffy's job to get the donuts while the Scoobies research? I thought that Xander praised her for going on snack runs in "Suprise." He and Willow are always the ones who get stuck with actual book duty. Also, Xander really does help the Scoobies a lot of times. He came up with the rocket-launcher plan for the Judge in "Innocnce", he rescued Giles in "Becoming Part Two, he discovered the swim team's secret in "Go Fish," etc... I think the rest of the Scoobies are selling him short in this episode. And as far as Jack's resurrection spell... It seems to work really well. Maybe, Dawn and the Scoobies should have talked to his Grand-Pappy in season five's "Forever" and season six's "The Barginning." On a nit-picky note, the first scene of the cafeteria in "The Zeppo" is a shot re-used from the episode "I Only Have Eyes for You." And the fact that I recognized it, is a sad indication that I'm hopelessly addicted to this show.
My favorite part of the episode: Buffy and Angel's melodramatic, tear-soaked, self-sacrificing, "I'll always love you" scene. The amazed looks on their faces when Xander walks in and interrupts their speech-ifying are truly priceless.