Homecoming (Buffy the Vampire Slayer)

Plot

Scott Hope ended things with Buffy the day after he had asked her to the Homecoming Dance. Meanwhile, Buffy was secretly feeding a weakened Angel, insisting to him that the others would not grasp that he had improved and was no longer the evil Angelus. At school, two men in a van who were linked to Mr. Trick kept an eye on Buffy. They heard her mention that a limousine would collect both her and Faith for the dance.

The gang sent Cordelia to tell Buffy about the yearbook photos, but Cordelia was too focused on her Homecoming Queen campaign. When Buffy realized her favorite teacher did not recognize her and that Cordelia had made her miss the photos, she decided to run for Homecoming Queen herself. Mr. Trick then introduced a competition called SlayerFest '98, with a group of participants: German twin assassins Hans and Fredrick Gruenstahler, the hunter Frawley, a demon named Kulak from the Miquot Clan, and Lyle Gorch along with his new wife Candy.

While Xander and Willow tried on their homecoming outfits, the tension between them grew until they finally kissed. On the night of Homecoming, a limo picked up Buffy, but it contained Cordelia instead of Faith. Cordelia handed Buffy a note from the rest of the gang, who hoped the two would reconcile. When they got out of the limo, the girls found themselves in a remote area.

They discovered a videotape message aimed at Buffy and Faith, explaining that the slayers were being hunted as part of SlayerFest '98. The participants attacked, and after Buffy defeated Frawley, the girls took shelter in a cabin. They found a phone and tried to contact Giles, but the line went dead. They started to bond when Cordelia confessed her love for Xander and Buffy admitted she had spent a year's allowance on her dress.

Kulak arrived and fought Buffy until the German assassins fired a grenade into the cabin. Buffy and Cordelia escaped back to the library, while Kulak was killed in the explosion.

Themes

The episode was criticized for concentrating too much on Buffy's self-pity, which prompts her to campaign for Homecoming Queen, leaving little time for the hunting-humans-as-sport storyline. This storyline twists the theme of Richard Connell's 1924 short story "The Most Dangerous Game" and its 1932 film adaptation. An essayist noted that Cordelia Chase has existed as Buffy's Shadow Self, representing Buffy's pre-Slayer self and her desire to return to that state. This episode marks Cordelia's last hurrah as Buffy's Shadow before Faith takes on the role full-time, which is why Cordelia is mistaken for Faith by the competitors and hunted alongside Buffy.

Continuity

The episode introduces Xander and Willow's romantic dalliance, which reverberates throughout the season. By neither Buffy nor Cordelia winning the crown, it underlines that Cordelia is just as much a misfit as the rest of the Scooby gang.

One commentator noted that "Becoming" showed Xander loves Willow as a friend enough that it could evolve into something more, and the episode uses this device for ongoing character development. Mayor Richard Wilkins, the season's Big Bad, first appears. His assistant Allan Finch will be killed by Faith in episode "Bad Girls."

Reception

Vox ranked the episode at #43 on their "Every Episode Ranked From Worst to Best" list. Mark Oshiro wrote that the show would not be as interesting if everyone had the most perfect quip available, and that the competition between Buffy and Cordelia inadvertently causes something else: Xander and Willow. He also noted that other characters see Cordelia as vapid and shallow, but she cares about superficial things in a fearless way. Noel Murray of The A.V. Club praised the sight of Cordelia whapping bad guys with a spatula and using intimidation to help herself and Buffy.

Justin Carreiro of TVFanatic.com wrote that the episode paired the favorite queens in a thrilling battle showing why they needed more scenes together, and that Cordelia's best moment was her speech in the library to Lyle Gorch. Myles McNutt observed that the episode needs Buffy and Cordelia to be rivals so there can be conflict when they are trapped in SlayerFest '98, and David Greenwalt draws from each character's strengths and insecurities to explain their feud.

Did You Know?

• Cordelia tries to win the nerd vote for Homecoming Queen by saying, "I've been doing the Vulcan death grip since I was 4," a reference to Star Trek.
• Oz tells Buffy, "As Willow goes, so goes my nation," referring to the political adage "As Maine goes, so goes the nation."