3.20, “We Were Here” - I’ve Never Changed My MindI like starting the conversation with the throwback

3.20, “We Were Here” - I’ve Never Changed My MindI like starting the conversation with the throwback to the first party and the first meeting at the food table. It’s not just a cute bit of callback, it also shows how far Marty and Buffy have come.To me, the dialogue feels unnatural now. Whereas the first time, they seemed like younger kids being silly, they’ve both grown so much since that first party. I think Marty feels the same way. When they get to the bit about the live frog, he wants to crawl inside of himself from embarrassment.In a way, Buffy does, too. Not that she doesn’t love bantering with Marty, but I think she realizes there’s more value to both of them at this point in being straight with one another. You can mask your feelings with jokes. It takes a lot more strength to be vulnerable and honest with someone. It’s something Buffy has long struggled with.Even earlier in this very episode, she still hadn’t admitted to her crush buddy Cyrus that she liked Marty in that way. Not that Cyrus couldn’t figure it out via obvious unspoken cues, but he was asking her questions about Marty and all she would give him was “I don’t know.”So it’s quite the move that Buffy decides she’s going to go for it at the party here, and approach Marty with the intention of being straightforward about things. Unfortunately, things don’t go right. They get a little awkward, so Buffy bails on the idea and heads for the exit.Marty doesn’t quit on her, though. Like he did at the marathon, he knows there’s something more behind her “just forget about it” attitude, so he follows her outside to pursue it. He tries to get her to just say what was clearly on her mind.Buffy says okay, and takes a breath, and you can feel she’s fighting every instinct that’s telling her to just flee the area. And then finally, she says “I like you.” It’s so simple but so, so necessary. It’s what Marty’s been waiting for her to say for seasons. She couldn’t do it before. The girl from the party in season one, making jokes about cheese puffs? This was not in her emotional vocabulary.But this Buffy? This Buffy who has grown and learned and matured? She can. She can put herself on the line and admit to having feelings for Marty, even if she doesn’t know those feelings will be reciprocated.And, of course, those feelings are reciprocated. Marty admitting with a great line that he’s never stopped liking Buffy. It’s something he needed to say as well, having had denied it so much recently to protect himself, or to protect her, or both.In many ways, Marty and Buffy were always that virtual couple. They had the appearance of a couple, and the banter and the chemistry, but they could never cross that boundary into the real world, either because Buffy wasn’t ready for it, or Marty wasn’t ready for it, or both of them were pretending they didn’t want it.And so it’s after they’ve both finally been able to admit out loud that they like each other that Marty’s able to kiss Buffy. It’s a physical act that’s both romantic and a way to say, “Yes, this is a real thing.”It’s them finally crossing that boundary. -- source link

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