Entertainment
The Buffy Episode That Secretly Fixed The Show’s Most Frustrating Mistake
By Chris Snellgrove
| Published
Buffy the Vampire Slayer is one of those shows I have watched until nearly every frame is burned into my brain. That’s because the series is borderline perfect: it features a killer premise, brilliant actors, and some of the best writing in television history. Even with the excellent writing, however, there are occasional mistakes that, once you notice them, will bother you forever.
For example, when Angel loses his soul and becomes evil, he wrecks Jenny Calendar’s computer, ostensibly destroying the information on how to restore his soul. However, all we see onscreen is the vampire destroying her computer monitor, which geeks like Willow know is not where the information is stored. Fortunately, season 2’s 19th episode, “I Only Have Eyes for You” fixes this mistake, revealing that Willow was still able to get information off Calendar’s computer and that the non-tech-savvy Angel didn’t really know what he was doing.
Breaking Vlad
Part of what made Buffy the Vampire Slayer so effective is that the show explored the real threats faced by young people through a fantasy lens. For example, countless young women have had the negative experience of a boy turning into a jerk after they have sex. But it was so much worse for Buffy: after she and Angel did the nasty, he lost his soul, becoming the scariest vampire of the modern age.
Once he became Angelus, this violent vamp didn’t want to simply kill Buffy: instead, he wanted to torment her by torturing and killing her friends. In “Passion,” he really takes this malevolence to the next level by killing Jenny Calendar and displaying her body for Giles to find when he shows up for a date. He initially attacks her at the school, where Angel takes the time to destroy the computer containing instructions for restoring his soul.
Talk About A Firewall
At least, that’s his goal: while he comments on how far technology has advanced, he slams her computer monitor to the ground, damaging it before setting it on fire. It makes for a very scary moment, one that underscores how horrifying it is for this teacher to be attacked in her own classroom by a ruthless vampire. But what always frustrated me as a young nerd was that “Passion” implies that Angel successfully destroys the information on the PC, which is absurd: destroying a computer monitor (even a chunky ‘90s monitor) would do nothing to actually destroy all of the information in the hard drive, housed safely in the undamaged body of the PC.
Fortunately, the later episode “I Only Have Eyes For You” fixed this mistake, though this was likely by accident. In the wake of Jenny Calendar’s death, Willow (her star pupil) becomes the new computer science teacher. When Giles comments on how well the young student has adapted to teaching, Willow points out that she had access to “good lesson plans…Ms. Calendar had them on her computer.” Furthermore, she also “found a bunch of files and Internet sites on paganism and magic and stuff.”
Finally, A Good Retcon
From a narrative standpoint, this helps to set up later plot points, including Willow discovering how to restore Angel’s soul (Calendar kept the spell on a floppy disk) and her eventually becoming a full-fledged witch. However, this throwaway line also confirms that Angel’s attempt to destroy the teacher’s computer and all of the information on it was a complete bust. That may seem disappointing, but it makes sense: the centuries-old vampire has never been good with technology, so it makes sense that he would just destroy the biggest, most visible part of the computer without realizing he’s damaging the wrong thing.
As all Buffy the Vampire Slayer fans know, “Passion” is a killer episode, one filled with high emotion, crazy action, and the unforgettable death of a major character. For this fan, though, the episode’s implication that destroying a computer monitor would affect the hard drive. While it would take the Scoobies a little while longer to figure out how to restore Angel’s soul, “I Only Have Eyes For You” managed to restore something else entirely: my faith in the writers!
Entertainment
Buy a $300 Delta gift card and get a free $20 Starbucks gift card
BUY A DELTA GIFT CARD FOR $300+ AND GET A FREE STARBUCKS GIFT CARD: Through May 11, buy a Delta gift card for $300 or more and get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card.
Credit: Delta / Starbucks
The price of flying these days is shocking. If you plan on traveling soon on a route served by Delta, it’s well worth checking out this deal to get something for free. It’ll help ease the pain of the ticket price.
Through May 11, purchase a Delta gift card worth $300 or more and get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card. It’s as simple as that. You can also qualify for the deal by buying multiple gift cards that total at least $300. The deal with apply automatically and you’ll receive a separate email containing the free Starbucks card.
Booking flights these days is not much fun. Prices are ahh…. abnormal, but Delta has eased the pain a bit thanks to this deal. The carrier is positioning this free Starbucks gift card deal as a good option for Mother’s Day, but realistically, it’s useful for anyone who plans to book with Delta soon.
Keep in mind the Delta gift card and Starbucks card will never expire. Delta mentions this offer is valid until May 11 at 11:59 p.m. ET or for the first 11,000 purchasers, whichever comes first. That means it might be smart to hop on this deal soon since there’s no way to know if it’ll last until May 11.
Mashable Deals
If you plan on flying soon or want to gift a special someone a Delta gift card worth $300 or more, snag this deal to get a free $20 Starbucks eGift card. It’s a win-win situation for those who plan to fly with Delta.
Entertainment
Snag a pair of Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones for $50 off
SAVE $50: As of May 6, get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) for $399 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $449. That’s a discount of 11%.
$399
at Amazon
$449
Save $50
If you want to experience your favorite music to the fullest, you need headphones that are up to the task. Bose can typically be counted on to provide that kind of quality, especially with its QuietComfort lineup. You can try its newest model for less right now for less thanks to this Amazon deal, which heavily discounts the cans so you don’t have to spend an arm and a leg on them.
As of May 6, get the Bose QuietComfort Ultra Headphones (2nd Gen) for $399 at Amazon, down from their usual price of $449. That’s $50 off and a discount of 11%.
Though an incremental upgrade from the previous QuietComfort model, these have some new features you’ll want to try out. But mostly, these comfortable headphones are all about feeling great on your ears and sounding fantastic. They offer noise cancellation and spatialized audio so it sounds as though you’re right where the music is. The new Cinema Mode can help to spatialize and balance background and sound and sound effects when watching movies to help put you right into the film as well.
Beyond that they can be used to take calls with their built-in microphones. They’ll last a long time while you’re on the phone too, with 30 hours of play time when listening to songs, podcasts, or taking meetings.
Mashable Deals
Mashable Lead Shopping Reporter Bethany Allard took the headphones for a spin in her review and and called them a “well-rounded pair of headphones”, praising their blend of “comfort, noise cancellation, and sound”.
If you’re ready to pick up a new pair of headphones at a discount that’ll tick all the boxes for you, grab these before the discount disappears.
Entertainment
Score up to 64% off at EcoFlow and snag free solar panels with your purchase.
SAVE 64%: Between May 6 and May 17, you can score up to 64% off at EcoFlow and snag free solar panels with your purchase.
Get up to 64% off plus a free solar panel with purchase
I live in an apartment, so I don’t exactly have a “whole home” to back up. But if there’s one thing I hate, it’s losing power. There goes the AC, the internet, the food in the fridge — it’s a total nightmare. If you actually own a house and have been putting off buying a backup power system because it’s pricey, I have some good news.
The DJI Power 1000 Mini portable power station just launched — U.S. availability is pending
Right now, EcoFlow is running a Mother’s Day Sale through May 17 with discounts as high as 64%. They’re also throwing in free hardware to sweeten the deal: All single orders between $600 and $3,000 come with a free 45W solar panel, and orders over $3,000 come with two free 160W solar panels. If you’re looking for something more portable, their RAPID Power Banks are also up to 53% off right now.
Just keep an eye on the countdown clock — it’s for the Flash Sale items that have even better, limited-time price cuts. If you miss the flash window, the standard Mother’s Day and Home Improvement deals (including a $700 installation discount for larger systems) are still valid through mid-May.
Mashable Deals
Here are a few of the best deals I’ve spotted so far:
Buy a $300 Delta gift card and get a free $20 Starbucks gift card
Snag a pair of Bose QuietComfort Ultra headphones for $50 off
