The sun rises on another gorgeous spring day at Sunnydale High, where Cordelia, Harmony, and Cordelia's latest beau, Mitch, are chatting away about the upcoming spring dance and how Cordy's a total cinch to be elected May Queen. Cue Buffy to come stumbling her way out of the library, trip over the happy threesome, and spill her bag o' weapons all over the floor. Because Buffy's a Slayer, and Slayers are clumsy that way. Attempting to cover for the sudden machete spillage, Buffy gives a lame excuse about history class and Giles' collecting hobby... not that the popular kids care in the slightest. Instead, Cordy & her court continue talking as if she's not even there... ooh, foreshadowing... about what a weirdo loser Buffy is. Buffy is very sad. And we're all sad for Buffy.

In English, the teacher reads Shylock's speech from 'The Merchant of Venice' to jump-start a conversation about the hurt and anger of society's outcasts. With typical sensitivity, Cordelia's take on the subject is that Shylock needs to get over himself and quit whining already. And there's no one better to give advice on getting over oneself than Cordelia, is there? After class Mrs. Miller compliments Cordelia's insights while Willow's eyes roll back in her head in disbelief. Anywho, smitten by Cordelia's... unique... take on the subject, the teacher gladly agrees to meet with her the next day to talk about the final paper.

Back in the hallway, Cordy gossips with Harmony about the wonderful dress she's having made for the dance and gushes that it's so great, Mitch is gonna die. Heh, poor Mitch. Because what Cordelia doesn't know yet is that her date for the dance is busy getting the snot beaten out of him by a floating, laughing baseball bat. Um, oops.

Still blissfully unaware of the violent mayhem, Cordelia takes a little time to campaign for May Queen by handing out chocolates, pointedly skipping over Buffy, whose vote she insists she doesn't need. Another ouch for Buffy. And because she doesn't feel quite alienated enough yet, she gets a third ouch when Xander and Willow share an hysterical anecdote from 6th grade that she doesn't get to be in on. Xander tries to soothe her hurt feelings by telling her the whole May Queen is stupid anyway, but it doesn't really help. Because before she came to Sunnydale, before she became the Slayer, Buffy pretty much *was* the May Queen. But her sadness gets put on hold for the festive discovery of Mitch's beating.

Buffy & Co. make it front and center to hear Mitch's account of the attack. Buffy wants to check out the locker room, but Snyder's standing right there and doesn't think the suspicious Summers needs to be poking around a crime scene. Thinking quickly, Willow hints loudly that Mitch might be planning to sue the school, which distracts Snyder long enough to let Buffy slip away. Sure enough, she spies the bat in question, along with a message spray painted on the locker doors: LOOK.

Giles joins the other Scoobies in the cafeteria, where they agree the spray painted message seems to point towards a human assailant. Thinking it may be a ghost, Willow's going to make a list of all the dead or missing kids in school (gotta love living Sunnydale, where information like that actually takes some time to compile) while Xander's on research detail with Giles, and Buffy gets the plum assignment of talking to Mitch's friends, starting with Cordelia.

We catch up with the aforementioned Cordy, who's talking to Harmony by the outside stairs. She just got back from visiting Mitch in the hospital, and she's really upset. Because he's gonna be all bruised in their pictures from the dance! And flash to the past and someone else's POV. As before, Cordelia and Harmony are talking about Mitch, this time discussing whether Cordy's gonna be gracious enough to let him go out with her. A girl, whose eyes we're seeing through, says hello to the pair and is rudely rebuffed. Flash back to the present, where Buffy asks to talk to Cordy for a minute. Usual rudeness about what that weirdo could possibly want when Harmony suddenly goes tumbling down the stairs!

Cordelia thinks she just fell for no reason, but Harmony insists that she was pushed. Snyder doesn't want her to sue, and Buffy... Buffy goes in search of the disembodied laughter that sounds mighty pleased about Harmony's injury. She follows the voice to the music room, where she feels someone brush past her, but not surprisingly, she doesn't see anybody there.

Panning past two out-of-place guys in dark suits... Buffy doubts the ghost theory, since it didn't pass through her so much as bump right into her. So the theory is updated to "invisible girl". Specifically an invisible girl with some kind of grudge, and the common denominator between Mitch and Harmony is our very own Cordelia. With a plan of action for the morning, Xander and Willow break off to head home... and hey! Xander's got his skateboard! Aah, the continuity. It gives me a happy.

So since Cordelia's likely to be putting the finishing touches on her dress that night at school, Buffy's going to come back later to keep an eye on her. When she does, all the happy, popular girls (minus Harmony and her busted ankle) are giggling and cooing over Cordelia's lovely dress, reminding Buffy how very not of the in-crowd she is now. Brief sadness, but it's interrupted by the sound of a flute wafting from down the hall.

Researching in the library, Giles hears the flute as well. It fades, though, to be replaced by the sound of a creaking door. Rather than an invisible girl, however, Giles turns to see Angel suddenly standing right next to him. He's a bit uneasy at the vampire's sudden appearance (complete with his *lack* of appearance next to Giles' reflection), but Angel reassures him that he no longer feeds on humans. He also admits that it's too hard to be around Buffy, and Giles finds it "rather poetic... in a maudlin sort of way" that a vampire has fallen in love with the Slayer. No, rather than visit Buffy, Angel is there to talk to Giles about whatever the Master's plans might be, plans Giles says he might be able to get a hint of in the Pergamum Codex, which is said to be a reliable source of Slayer prophecy, but that particular book's been lost since the 15th century. Angel corrects him, though. "Not lost. Misplaced." And Angel can get it for him.

Their conversation turns to the invisible girl on campus, and Giles' research suggests it's an intoxicating power to have. Angel isn't so sure, though. As he puts it, looking in the mirror every day and seeing nothing there is an overrated pleasure.

With that insight, we have another flashback, in which we see the soon-to-be-invisible girl. She's trying to talk to Cordelia and her friends, but they talk over her like she's not even there. She tries to laugh along with them, but she's obviously crushed by how completely they ignore her. And her sadness is the backdrop for Cordelia's moment of glory the next morning when she's officially elected May Queen.

Xander and Willow meet Buffy to compare notes on the night before. Willow notices the aforementioned out-of-place men in suits, thinking Cordelia might have hired a bodyguard or two, but the others don't comment, distracted by Buffy's discovery of a missing flute player named Marcie Ross on Willow's list. That meshes with the eerie flute music the night before and Buffy bumping into the not-ghost in the music room, so she's off to investigate. Sure enough, in the crawl space in the ceiling over the music room, Buffy finds a makeshift living area, complete with flute, teddy bear, and a yearbook filled to the brim with the dreaded, impersonal "Have a nice summer." What she doesn't see... what the invisibleness and all... is that Marcie is behind Buffy, watching her, and doesn't appreciate the company. Not that Marcie says anything about it, but the hovering knife behind Buffy's back is a pretty big clue.

Still, Buffy crawls away, unscathed and oblivious to her close call, and we cut to Mrs. Miller, who's waiting for her meeting with Cordelia. She hears something, footsteps and laughter, and suddenly a plastic bag covers her face and starts to suffocate her. Cordelia arrives moments later and pulls the bag off just in time. Mrs. Miller didn't see her attacker (no surprise), but a stick of chalk floating next to the blackboard spells out another message: LISTEN.

In the library, Buffy shows the others Marcie's yearbook. Xander and Willow both agree they've never met her, but not only did they both sign her yearbook, they even had four classes with Marcie and still never noticed her. Finally the pieces click together. Nobody noticed Marcie; she was pretty much invisible to everyone around her. So between the idea that perception can actually define reality and the mystical energy of the Hellmouth, unseen Marcie became literally invisible.

Cue another flashback of Marcie, this time in English class. Marcie continues to raise her hand along with the others and never gets called on. Frustrated, she finally takes down her hand and is horrified to see it disappearing right in front of her. And in the present, Buffy rightly notices that Marcie's invisibility isn't so much a power she has as a condition that was inflicted upon her. It follows that she'd be mad as hell about it, and from the violently defaced picture in Marcie's yearbook, it's pretty clear that anger is directed at Cordelia.

And speaking of the May Queen, Cordelia comes rushing into the library, having put it all together as only she can - this is all about her! Everyone who was attacked was connected to her, and she came to Buffy hoping that the strong, weird, weapon-toting girl might be in a gang or something. The not-in-a-gang Buffy explains that the attacker is an invisible girl, and despite the flashbacks we've seen of Cordelia and her court cutting Marcie down, Cordy claims she's never see the girl before in her life.

Giles and the others don't understand what Look and Listen mean, but Buffy doesn't think they're supposed to yet. Her theory is that Marcie is planning to do something to Cordelia, the May Queen, at the dance. Cordy soundly rejects Willow's idea that she skip the coronation. After all, if she does that, then Marcie wins, right? Buffy grudgingly agrees with Cordelia - a concept that makes her shudder just a teeny bit - and suggests using the whole May Queen thing to draw Marcie out of hiding.

When the strategy session breaks up, Cordelia surprises Buffy by saying she understands how lonely Marcie must feel. Buffy highly doubts that, but as Cordelia explains, being popular and having actual friends aren't exactly the same thing, since everybody's so busy trying to win her approval that they don't pay any attention to who she really is.

Buffy walks Cordelia to the janitor's closet to change into her dress for the dance. Being careful, she looks around for Marcie before leaving Cordy alone in there. Because 'having a look around' is the very best way to spot an invisible girl. Willow, Xander and Giles, meanwhile, hear Marcie playing her flute nearby and go to investigate. They follow the sound to the basement, but the music is a recording. Too late, they try to get out, but Marcie has locked them in. And to make matters worse, that ominous hissing noise is the gas that's filling the room. They search in vain for a way to shut off the gas. Xander grabs a metal rod to try to ram the door open, but Giles stops him - if the metal makes a spark the entire building could blow.

Through the door of the makeshift dressing room, Buffy tries to tell Cordelia that she understands what it's like to be popular but alone, but the not-quite-bonding moment is interrupted by the sounds of a scuffle inside. She breaks through the door just in time to see Cordelia disappear through a hole in the ceiling and climbs up to follow. She finds her unconscious on Marcy's sleeping bag, but when she tries to wake her, Marcie attacks. Buffy falls through the ceiling onto a desk below, and Marcie follows with a syringe in hand. Groggy, Buffy doesn't see it in time, and Marcie injects her with a powerful sedative.

The girls wake up in The Bronze, tied to chairs that have been decorated like thrones for the dance. Cordelia says her face is numb, and on a curtain in front of them, Marcie has spelled out her final message: LEARN. Cordelia asks what they're supposed to learn, but Marcie corrects her. She's not the learner; she's the lesson. People always notice pretty Cordelia. Well, after Marcie and her scalpel are done with her, people are going to remember the May Queen's face for the rest of their lives.

Back in the basement, Willow and Xander are unconscious with Giles on the verge when Angel opens the door. He and Giles get the others to safety, and Angel explains that he was coming to bring Giles the Pergamum Codex when he smelled the gas. And he'll go back in to shut it off since a lack of oxygen doesn't exactly bother him.

At The Bronze, Buffy has gotten out of her ropes but is currently getting her butt whupped by her invisible opponent. Marcie taunts her, saying that she's invisible - how is Buffy gonna fight her? But Buffy has an answer. Shooshing the panicked Cordelia, she closes her eyes and listens. Sure enough, at a creak behind her, Buffy's punch connects and sends Marcie sprawling.

With the bad guy down, the men in suits arrive and announce themselves as F.B.I. agents. They take Marcie into custody and promise that she's going to be a *very* useful member of society. They leave out the part where they twirl their moustaches and snicker at poor Nell tied to the railroad tracks, but it's pretty obvious they're up to no good.

The next morning at school, Buffy asks how the others managed to escape the basement, and Giles credits the janitor with their rescue (since Angel's trying to distance himself from Buffy). Then Cordelia approaches them and thanks them sincerely for their help the day before. Willow invites her to come grab some lunch with them, but Mitch - still bruised as hell but none the wiser for the experience - spots Cordelia and can't believe she's talking to the loser crowd. Looking torn, Cordelia covers by saying she was just giving them some free fashion advice, but those of us who remember her earlier conversation with Buffy aren't as convinced anymore that she's really as snotty as she's trying to act.

Before the credits roll, we get a glimpse of the Feds' dastardly plans for Marcie's future. Reassuring and friendly-like, they lead her into a classroom full of invisible students. The teacher welcomes her to the group, and the students open their books. The subject they'll be covering today: assassination and infiltration. Marcie thinks that's cool.

Thoughts

"Invisible Girl" isn't exactly a series highlight, but I liked it. It fits in well with the season as a whole, but it's also a satisfying episode in and of itself (unlike later seasons where each episode depended so heavily on what came before). It was also kind of refreshing to have a bad guy you could feel some sympathy for. Not when she went all murder-iffic and violent, but still. Something was done to Marcie that drove her over the edge. It doesn't come close to excusing her actions, but it gives them some context worth thinking about and reinforces Joss' concept of high school as hell. I also liked - having seen S4 - that the government seems to be aware of some of the creepier goings-on out there ;)

Angel is wisely trying to stay off of Buffy's radar, but he still cares and wants to help. I really liked the scene between him and Giles in the library stacks. Funny how Giles' uneasiness around Angel starts to evaporate when they start talking about books and research. Of course, the promise of a long-lost, invaluable volume full of Slayer prophecy goes a long way towards some good will there. And Angel bringing the Codex was a nice bit of set-up that's gonna pay off big-time.

I also enjoyed seeing them develop Cordelia's character a bit here. She's still the haughty queen of Sunnydale High we all know and love, but it was nice to get to know her a little better.

All in all, this episode didn't blow me away or anything, but it's one I'll always be happy to stop and watch in reruns.

Quirks

The whole "working on Cordelia's dress" thing isn't so much 'working on it' as touching the fabric and agreeing that it's indeed a lovely gown. And if she's having it 'specially made' for her, why were her friends supposedly working on it anyway?

While Buffy is trying to untie Cordelia, the ropes are already loose enough for her to slip her hands through easily, but then after the Feds show up and cart Marcie away, the ropes are all tight again.

In a classroom full of invisible kids, how does Marcie know which chair is empty?

Body Count

none

Haiku

Marcie was ignored.
She became invisible
Then she got a job.

[ back ]