This was so bizarre! Buffy The Vampire Slayer | 2x16 'Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered' | Blind

[@TerryNutkins3]

"Dingoes Ate My Baby" is a reference to the tragic death of a nine week old baby in Australia in 1980, the parents were charged and found guilty of her murder though her body has never been found, the mother's defence claimed that a Dingoe (type of wild dog) must have taken the child when the family was asleep while they were out camping, however the conviction was overturned years later when an item of the girls clothing was found in a Dingo lair

[@VicFrost]

that's so sad! poor parents

[@charmingjinx9379]

"Dingoes ate my baby" was a catchphrase at the time of the infamous trial in the 80's. The phrase was made even more well known in an episode of Seinfeld when Elaine used it at a party, talking to a very pretentious person who was annoying her.

[@leesmith9299]

35:09 no-one said she HAD to thank him. she just chose to because she's a nice person who likes her friend xander. he never indicated that he thought he deserved a thanks.

[@VicFrost]

very true, you make an excellent point

[@ernesthakey3396]

The Master in season one did say Angelus was the most vicious creature he'd ever met.

[@VicFrost]

oh yeah that's true oops

[@ernesthakey3396]

Amy: "I'll need something of hers." Xander: "Give me the bracelet back!" At this point, the bracelet is no longer Cordy's, it is Xander's, so the spell doesn't target Cordy, it targets Xander. Oops! And they called on Diana...a goddess of the hunt. 😅

[@VicFrost]

Oh wow you're so right, that makes so much sense why it backfired now. I was quietly confused about the goddess, but figured it was from another pantheon haha

[@ernesthakey3396]

@@VicFrost yep, Diana was the Roman version of the Greek Artemis, both virgin goddesses of the hunt...

[@spamfilter32]

Actually, Dianna is the correct godess. The spell, as depicted in the show, is fairly accurate. Amy didn't miscast the spell. The reason the spell backfired is because Cordelia was already in love with Xander, so there was nothing for the spell to do to her. So it rebounded onto all the women who didn't love Xander.

[@jonaskoelker]

@@spamfilter32 > [reason for the spell working the way it did.] The incantation mentions "Xander's true love". Xander wants Cordelia to fall back in love with Xander not so they can be together, but so that _he_ can break up with her. If you want to break up with someone, they're probably not your true love. Therefore, Xander's true love is _someone_ other than Cordelia. Amy and/or the spell didn't know who, so it targeted _everyone_ other than Cordelia.

[@spamfilter32]

@@jonaskoelker unless someone is your true love, you don't try to get revenge on them. Xander did indeed love her. And while he said he wanted her to fall in love with him so he could break up with her, what are the odds he would just go with it and forget about breaking up with her? Lastly, the fact that Cordy wore the necklace was proof that she still loved him. She didn't break up with him because she wasn't in love with him. She broke up with him because she was unsure of his affections for her and because of peer pressure from her friends.

[@garconerproduction3046]

dingoes ate my baby is supposed to reference the 1980 case of an australian baby girl who was killed by dingoes- a type of wild dog.

[@rogerlie4176]

This incident was the inspiration for the movie Evil Angels starring Meryl Streep.

[@VicFrost]

that's so sad! omg

[@gungho1284]

If Darla were still alive, then Angel(us) would have his version of Dru in the way the Spike does. So instead, he is playing the game of coming between Spike and Dru. But Angel already has his relationship to Dru since he sired her. And Drusilla is not a monogamous vampire.

[@robertmckenna3994]

“There's no belonging or deserving anymore. You can take what you want, have what you want, but nothing is yours. Not even her.”

[@VicFrost]

Damn, I didn't think of that, that's awesome

[@diatomos8]

I love how things keep escalating in this one.

[@grkpektis]

You know it's going to be a fun episode when Xander accidentally causes more chaos than Angelus

[@VicFrost]

Right? Angelus was BAFFLED

[@Itsjandz105]

I love this episode pure chaos. Seeing the lunch lady cracks me up every time.

[@serinas4465]

Do not question the tissue advise. To not spoil anything I recommend to always have them ready for watching Buffy. Sometimes you will need them.

[@zootizoot]

nitpicking on a little sentence you said - the amount of how sexualized you are is dependent on other people and not about what you wear. when I was young could get sexualized even mid winter with oversize puffer coat and sometimes not get sexualized even in summer with really short clothes. no correlation whatsoever.

[@VicFrost]

Oh yeah that's really true, thanks for bringing it up!

[@trufamilybromontqc]

Love this episode 😂❤

[@killianlpc]

Bewitched Bothered and Bewildered was the first of the real comedic episodes of the series. Here we see Xander jilted by Cordelia and looking for a type of revenge. Amy obliges but as always the love spell goes wrong, and we see Xander become irresistible to all women except Cordelia. We see Harmony and her Airhead friends also act as you would expect, however once under the spell want Xander too. Funny when the peaceful Oz punches Xander, and Jenny Calendar and Joyce both hitting on Xander. When Buffy comes in to the library in her sexy outfit it all goes wrong when she thinks she is being two timed and the jealous Amy turns her into a rat, when she comes back to human form a funny ending saying to Xander she remembers coming on to him, and a 'sudden need for cheese'. Strangely Buffy and Cheese are weirdly connected throughout this show! A great fun comedy episode.

[@VicFrost]

I did NOT expect for her to turn into a rat, looking back, I find it so much funnier haha

[@spamfilter32]

Many people mistakenly say that the spell backfired because Amy cast it wrong. But that is incorrect. Amy did cast the spell correctly. The spell backfired because it was meant to cause Cordelia to fall in love with Xander. But Cordelia already *did* love Xander, so the spell couldn't affect her. So instead the spell affected all women who didn't love Xander.

[@Shoofyou10]

I really feel for Xander. He has some really deep seeded insecurities based on a bad family and home life. He masks those insecurities with jokes. He puts himself out there it’s Cordellia and she breaks his heart. His turn to magic after he gets his heart broken, is certainly an immature response to it. But in the end he doesn’t take advantage of any of the women once the spell goes wrong and he knows what he did was wrong. He is growing as a person.

[@VicFrost]

Yeah, I really love his character development, can't wait to see the difference with the end of the season

[@robertmckenna3994]

It would’ve been interesting if Larry from the previous episode made an appearance in this one.

[@VicFrost]

omg yes

[@disneytoysr4fun975]

Oh no i didnt know you were only a teen! That makes me scared for future episodes/seasons.😩😭💔

[@johnolexa1543]

Always found it funny, Amy (being a witch) would worry about Xander's blackmail attempt Lol. Anyway "dingoes ate my baby" or "Dingo ate my baby" is a cry used, unfortunately in jest from a real life incident, involving a couple in Australia, who while camping, a dingo killed their infant daughter. The authorities didn't believe it at first and they were convicted of murder. Which was eventually overturned.

[@VicFrost]

Oh no for real? That's so sad!!! That went past me so hard! And yeah, she could've just spelled it off or something haha

[@Teeklin]

Keep up the great content! Definitely beware of researching actors for Buffy episodes.

[@palisade32]

🔧 Don't worry, I make sure her information is spoiler free.

[@johncampbell756]

This is not a parallel world. This episode shouldn't have existed. SMG got offered a hosting gig on SNL. It was filming during this episode. There was no way she could miss that much time for the scheduled episode, so they added this and made the Buffy rat. Marti Noxon wrote over Christmas. I ended up being the one who to Ty Ling that his episode got pushed back. This aired just before Valentine's Day. V-Day was Saturday Feb 14th, 1998. That night a group of Bronzers. Including myself, hosted the 1st Annual Buffy Posting Board Party. (PBP) The cast and crewwere relieved to be trapped in a room with fans after this episode instead of the intended next episode. Dingoes Ate My Baby is a play on a Meryl Streep film about an Australian woman who told the police that "a dingo's got my baby!" A dingo 15:24 is an Austalian wild dog. She was convicted of murdering her baby, though apparently a dingo did kill it. My friends, Four Star Mary, supply the music. Midol is for cramping during a period. The problem is that Cordy has no idea why Xander used the spell. This was actually one of my favorite episodes of the series. The difference between this and being roofied (sp) is that the person drugging you intentionally did it. He didn't intend this. It still would probably be a convictable offense. But this wasn't a common thing back then, so most people didn't get thrown by it as you did. Nothing wrong with seeing it as you did. Nick Brendon is not a good person. I know people he abused. It sucks, but it's true.

[@disneytoysr4fun975]

Dont say hes abusive if hes just a drunk tho.

[@johncampbell756]

@disneytoysr4fun975 I know people who have been abused. The one I know well wasn't physically abused but was definitely abused. And he's more than a drunk. What really bothers me, and you aren't doing this, is that I was at an event he was at. He claimed to be sober. A fan my friend knew was swearing he wasn't drinking anymore. He was sitting at the bar drinking beer in a clear glass so you could plainly see it. "No, he quit drinking. Stop saying he's drinking." He was visibly getting drunk, and was arrested yet again a month later. It's one thing to like a person's work. It's another to be such a fan that you are in complete denial of what is in your face.

[@VicFrost]

Yeah, maybe I said it wrong, I recognized that it was not his intention, but still made me uncomfortable. Looking back, I like this episode a LOT more haha. It would be SO COOL for it to be a parallel world! I would love to see that. Yeah, the fact that she doesn't even know how is kind of sad. I really didn't know a lot about him, makes me a bit sad

[@johncampbell756]

@VicFrost I'm glad you liked it more on the rewatch. I try to separate the artist from the art. Kevin Spacey is a horrible person, but a great actor who is in several of my favorite films. There's a lot about Joss that's bad out there. I worked with him for two years, but the few things that happened during my time all happened behind closed doors so I wouldn't know about them. I enjoyed working for him.

[@peterd9698]

What a certain point of view, what Xander did was horrific. I look at it this way. If this was real life this would be a court case, Xander would be facing a very serious sentence for a revenge-roofie of his ex, and we would be listening to Xander's testimony, asking ourselves if we were listening to a sociopath spinning a cynical lie to justify their premeditated crime. This isn't real life though. We have a magical insight into what Xander actually was thinking. Although his story is exactly the sort of story we would get from a cynical sociopath, magically, we are in a position to distinguish them and know for certain that he honestly is that much of a fool.

[@VicFrost]

yeah, the fact that he didn't know this would happen is better, but at the same time, even what he planned to do is nothing short of scary

[@Buffy8Fan]

I enjoy this episode, but I dislike that Xander and Cordelia fix the relationship with Cordelia believing, "the spell was all for [her]," when in reality he was planning on dumping her while she was under said love spell as a revenge for what he saw as actions she didn't have a right to do, when she did have said right, whether people agree with her decision or not.

[@VicFrost]

Yeah, I'd thought he'd explain the actual reason, but makes more sense character wise to not have said it. 100% agree

[@grife3000]

"A dingo ate my baby" was what a woman surprisingly said to the media when her child died. Everyone accused her of killing it; it was later found out that a dingo did take the baby. Midol - painkiller marketed for use on period cramps, she's joking that the other girl is being bitchy from PMS. Yes, Buffy did thank him for being a decent human being and not raping her. The Love Spell trope used to be a lot more casual and silly (as well as more common), but has aged poorly now that we've learned as a society. There's a lot of "it was a different time" things about the show. I've seen others complain about cliques being so horrible, nerds being unpopular, bullying, etc. But the show was true to its time, for better or for worse.

[@VicFrost]

Some people pointed out she didn't HAVE to, but still feels weird to me a little. the dingo thing is literally horrifying.

[@trufamilybromontqc]

midol cest pour aider a soulager les crampe menstruel a place de prendre du tylenol ou advil .

[@VicFrost]

j'ai jamais entendue parler de midol, peut-être je le vois juste pas à la pharmacie. Merci!

[@Emburbujada]

Yes, Spike is such a loser that he's not even a great evil vampire XD About the scene where Buffy points out that Xander didn't take advantage of her, I think that was meant more for the audience than Xander himself, as commentary on the situation. What I find interesting is that Xander doesn't even get tempted to take advantage of any of these women. The second he realizes it's the spell at work, he just walks away. He could have thought of at least making Cordelia jelous, or showing off in front of the other boys. Fairly mature for a 16/17 year old.

[@disneytoysr4fun975]

I guess thats the difference between girls and boys. I would never think to sleep with a boy if he was under a spell but it seems to be expected for men. Its also probably why only women see teen boys as victims when they are sexually abused by grown women. Most men would rather congratulate the boy😂😩😭

[@phueal]

Extremely mature for a 16/17 year old…

[@VicFrost]

Yeah, it shows how good he is, I love that as soon as realized he backed off. Spike feels like a sullen puppy to me, and it's hilarious

[@jackmars931]

/Episode contains weird and ambiguous messages about consent and agency /Checks the writer. Yep, that tracks.

[@DmGray]

The thing about "she shouldn't have to say thank you" is that you're going between a literal read and an allegorical read. Literally? He inadvertently "drugged her into sexual compliance" when maliciously targeting somebody else, bc he felt wronged. In no world is he the good guy or doing something even REMOTELY acceptable. Just bc you got dumped in a REALLY trashy way doesn't entitle you to abuse the person that dumped you. EVEN if we can empathise with real world stories of revenge (and here: women are WAY more likely to take revenge on exes. Destroyed property and malicious rumour are FAR more likely to be perpetrated by women, but people tend not to care bc "he must have deserved it") Now, ALLEGORICALLY this is a story about petty revenge going wrong (to teach a lesson that revenge = bad) AND about sexual agency. And his "not taking advantage" of somebody who is "intoxicated" IS worthy of praise. She threw herself at him, and he did the right thing. Saying it is what he SHOULD do is besides the point. People get drunk to hook up ALL THE TIME. Sexual misadventure is a real thing. And "blaming the man" is often a REALLY shitty standard people have, bc often men are just as intoxicated. I know I have several female friends who if they got drunk and threw themselves at me the temptation would be EXTREME. Not because I don't love and respect them... but because I DO love and respect them and I don't consider sex to be a dirty thing. But I would hope to place primacy on real consent, and not being their next mistake. The story taking time to praise a character for making a moral and ethical decision is nothing but good. "she shouldn't have to" speaks to a sense of entitlement. I shouldn't HAVE TO thank service staff when I dine out. But I do. I shouldn't HAVE TO thank people for common courtesy or kindness because it should be the default... But I do. And I think that's a good thing :P I'm not entitled to kindness, and acts of kindness should be rewarded. Even in something as small as... being noticed and acknowledged.

[@LeshaAnn]

Aww, women are more likely to destroy property or start malicious rumors when dumped? Gosh, that's dire... Men are far, far more likely to KILL the person who leaves them. Or, if we're lucky, just stalk us so they can beat up any new gentleman friends we may meet!

[@DmGray]

Out of every breakup, how many result in murder? How many of those murders were due to the breakup? (and not, you know, other issues... like psychopathy) Sounds a little "victim blame-y" to me. Check out the rates of suicide after breakups too. Wonder if any underlying abuse could contribute to suicide. Right? But naw. Stuff ONLY matters when it effects women more. If your response to a rather mild point about how some negative behaviours are engaged in more by women is to bring up murder... something tells me you are merely parroting something you've been taught. Or you REALLY could just be a terrible person? Next time I hear somebody talk about women's issues, I'll be sure to bring up how women are far more likely to murder an infant. I mean, it's an accurate statistic, right? So saying it in response to something unrelated in order to deflect and minimise the issue being raised is TOTALLY normal and not psycho at all. @@LeshaAnn

[@disneytoysr4fun975]

@@DmGrayyour statistic isnt proven tho. Men absolutely destroy property in fits of rage as well, i have rarely heard of a woman punching a hole in the wall for instance.

[@DmGray]

Isn't proven? There's ALWAYS a desperation to demand full proof and context when doing the EXACT same shit but targeting women instead. It's ALMOST like arguments of convenience tends towards hypocrisy. Take, for instance, this "women get murdered by their exes" Taken from statistics for 2021-22: Around 170~ women were killed in the UK. Around 60 of these were perpetrated by a partner of ex partner. So, less than 60 women were killed by an ex in the UK in a given year (I'd suggest a larger portion of these would be by current abusive partners, rather than stalker exes, but there stats are unclear, lets call if 50/50, which I think is an EXTREMELY liberal guess) Horrific, but out of a population of almost 70 million, 30 women per year MIGHT be killed by an ex. In the same year, around 500 men were killed. Around 10% of these were "domestic related" which might imply a partner, but can include other family. So, lets to another 50/50 and say that half of THOSE were perpetrated by a woman, or 25. I doubt any of these were "stalker exes" though. (toxic behaviour presents differently in men and women, afterall. For one, women tend to use cats paws to do the deed) But, what this ALL means is that the ABSOLUTE histrionics SOME women feel the need to fly into over "how dangerous it is to be a woman" is pulled DIRECTLY from arseholes. Men are multiple times more likely to be murdered by a stranger (women are most likely to be targeted by somebody they know and trust, which is WAY more horrifying) but the numbers for the ONE area where women are more likely to be killed ("domestics") are 84 vs 50. Which IS a significant difference... but hardly the ENORMOUS GULF certain activists wish it was. But come on... And again, deflection. Punching a hole in the wall isn't necessarily related to abuse. Destroying something that belongs to somebody else is. And remember: this entire exchange was sparked bc of a small side note about the prevalence of one specific behaviour that you really can't even deny is accurate. How many videos have you seen online of men destroying their partners stuff? Smashing consoles? Keying cars? Throwing clothes out? It just doesn't happen. Even if men ARE doing that shit, they wouldn't broadcast it to the world... bc that behaviour is ONLY tolerated in women. As is demonstrated handily in this thread, where even the IMPLICATION that women ALSO engage in wrong doing provoked a level of chauvinism that would make an1970s comic blush. And lastly, I state all these statistics not to PROVE anything... because statistics are just a tool. They can be used for fucking ANYTHING. The information recorded, the manner of collection and the presentation ALL include biases. I state women are more likely to do X thing, that isn't a moral condemnation of women. It's pointing out how easy it is to use a statistic to be a cunt. @@disneytoysr4fun975

[@VicFrost]

I did not expect this topic in the comments haha. I 100% agree that men and women don't have the same standards for some things and that's a problem. Men and women react differently in situations simply because of the change in hormones (It's more complicated than that obvi, not even counting personality and character, just speaking generally). I don't necessarily agree that not taking advantage of someone shouldn't need a thank you, because that's more important than simply holding the door to someone. i don't know it got to murder lol, but I can agree with the inherent fear of being stalked, it's something I'm always aware of. So I'm mixed with this but I think I said the important bits

[@Madbandit77]

This episode is a "be careful what you wished for" in Xander's case. It was oddly written around SMG's absence since she was guest-hosting "Saturday Night Live", during Buffy's popularity. The next episode is a heartbreaker. You should have a tissue box nearby.

[@LeshaAnn]

Why do people say stuff to spoil reactions?

[@Madbandit77]

​​@@LeshaAnn Did I go into details? No. So don't go having kittens.

[@palisade32]

​@@Madbandit77🔧 You didn't go into specifics but you did set expectations. If Vic hadn't already seen the next episode I would have asked you to modify your comment. Please be more aware in the future. 😊

[@Madbandit77]

@@palisade32But you equate the expectations as spoilers, and that's stupid.

[@palisade32]

@@Madbandit77 🔧 Personally, yes I do. More importantly however is that Vic agrees with that standard and when I moderate for someone I follow the standard we agreed upon, not mine. I warned her some time back in general terms that she should keep a tissue box handy in the future. This way I wasn't setting expectations for the next episode.

[@meggo329]

Your taking this episode way to seriously

[@VicFrost]

isn't that kind of my job lol, but maybe a little bit. Looking back, I have more fondness for it