Charisma Carpenter
I think Charisma Carpenter is a classic beauty, and
by that I mean akin to a Greek goddess. I would say Artemis--wild, untamed,
and unconcerned.
For the bulk of season one, Cordelia Chase was a major bitch who spent
quite a bit of time making the lives of Buffy, Willow, and Xander pretty
miserable. She was a fairly stock, uninteresting character, and although
Charisma Carpenter was nice to look at she didn't really display a whole
lot of acting talent. Her one seemingly-redeeming quality was
that she is always brutally honest with other people (though perhaps not
always with herself, as we will discover later), but on Cordelia, a little
less honesty might look a little better. She gets some great digs in, especially
towards Willow: "Willow. Nice dress. Good to know you've
seen the softer side of Sears" (WttHM) She also pretty much
thinks Buffy is a raging loony, but, for once, I can't fault her.
Buffy did attack her with a broken chair leg. (If I was attacked
by someone with a broken chair leg, I'd think they were a few bricks shy
of a load too. Actually, the more I think about it, Cordy was right
about the dress too. Willow had the fashion sense of moss before
she met Buffy.)
However, the last two
episodes of the season, Invisible Girl and Prophesy Girl,
began the process of what would be a major sub-theme of season two: the
humanization of Cordelia.
IG was the first Cordelia-centric
episode. She was terrorized by Marci, and for once seemed to realize
what was going on. Her boyfriend Mitch was beaten up by a random
baseball bat, Harmony was shoved down a flight of stairs, and her teacher
was nearly suffocated with a plastic bag. She actually displays a
few real emotions in the library, mostly fear. Despite not being
incredibly tactful, her speech in the library is actually very honest.
"I knew you'd be
here. Buffy, I, uh, I, I know we've had our differences, with you being
so weird and all, and hanging out with these total losers...Well, anyway,
despite all of that, I know that you share this feeling that we have for
each other, deep down...Somebody is after me! They just tried to kill Ms.
Miller? Uh, she was helping me with my homework. And Mitch! And Harmony?!
This is all about me! Me, me, me!" X: "Wow! For once she's
right!" B: "So you've come to *me* for help." C:
"Because you're always around when all this weird stuff is happening.
And I know you're very strong, and you've got all those weapons... I was
kind of hoping you were in a gang. Please! I don't have anyone else to
turn to!"
The Buffy/Cordelia dialogue when Cordelia goes to try on her dress is one
of the most telling of the series. It is the first time we see that
Cordelia is dissatisfied with her life, and it's shallowness, a theme which
would be explored in season two as she slowly joins the Slayerette club.
This is one of the most important passages in understanding her transformation,
because it would be difficult to accept that suddenly she was becoming
friends with Buffy and Co. if she had given no indication that she was
unhappy before. C: "Hey! You think I'm never lonely because I'm
so cute and popular? I can be surrounded by people and be completely alone.
It's not like any of them really know me. I don't even know if they like
me half the time. People just want to be in a popular zone. Sometimes when
I talk, everyone's so busy agreeing with me, they don't hear a word I say."
B: "Well, if you feel so alone, then why do you work so hard
at being popular? C: "Well, it beats being alone all by yourself."
This last line is one
of my favorites in the episode. It sums up so succinctly why Cordelia
hangs with people she doesn't like, and, in a larger sense, says a lot
about people in general. Being alone is a major theme in the series,
especially in the Innocence-Passion-Becoming trilogy.
Interestingly enough, the second part of
Cordelia's statement, not knowing if her friends really like her, is nearly
overlooked in both this episode and most of season two. Then suddenly,
in BBB, we learn the answer. Cordelia had a valid fear.
One thing about Cordelia–she
thanks the people who help her. (When she realizes it.) Her gratitude
at the end is real, and it's obvious with a glance back (a credit to Charisma
Carpenter) that she feels guilty when she blows them off. This is
reiterated in SAR. It is an interesting contrast to Buffy,
who never thanks Xander for saving her life, and doesn't even hint at gratitude
until IMG. (The dance scene in WSWB excepted, of course.)
Cordelia did not become
friends with Buffy, even if she did find a sort-of respect for her,, after
IG. What the episode did was lay the groundwork for her dissatisfaction,
and make her gradual integration into the Slayerettes believable, and almost
logical.
While not one of her biggest episode, (nearly every season two episode
featured her much more,) PG was probably the one episode that can
pinpoint where her transformation started. The reason is obvious:
she finds her boyfriend, the one she was just telling Willow how much she
likes, murdered on the floor of the A/V room. This, of course, totally
changes her perspective. She doesn't even end up going to the dance,
which is good because she is able to see all the vampires and save Willow
and Ms. Calendar. Cordelia should be totally traumatized by the Hell
Mouth opening, after all, Buffy, Giles, Willow, and Xander were kinda used
to this sort of thing, and even Ms. Calendar was familiar with apocalyptic
signs, but up until that day an Invisible Girl was the only thing Cordelia
even had to deal with. However, she seems pretty calm about the whole
thing, mostly because of her unique personality which pretty much allows
her to face near-death experiences and worry about her hair.
Joss began to give Cordelia
increased presence in the storylines beginning in WSWB. Cordelia,
with her "gift," so to speak, of telling the truth, is the one person who
confronts Buffy for acting like a bitch. I really like the advice
she gives her: "Deal with it. Embrace the pain, spank you inner
moppet, whatever. But get over it. ‘Cause pretty soon you're
not even gonna have the loser friends you've got now." I've actually
used this when speaking of a person, but we don't need to get into that
right now. She is not really friends with them, but is friendly at
school, asking if they fought any demons, and even goes out of her way
to help Buffy, in her own way.
The end of the episode
leaves us with a very typical Cordelia line. In the wake of the kidnaping
and near sacrifice, she says to Ms. Calendar that the worst thing about
the ordeal is that "it stays with you forever. No matter what they tell
you, none of that rust and blood and grime comes out. I mean, you can dry
clean 'til judgment day, you are living with those stains."
Jenny's response is
typical Jenny: "Yeah that's the worst part of being hung upside down
by a vampire who wants to slit your throat: the stains," but Cordy's
reaction is even better: "I hear ya!" She thinks Jenny is
serious! That proves to be one of the reoccurring episode threads:
Cordelia is insulted and doesn't get it. While Jenny's dig is the
best, this happens several other times. (I want to archive a list
of these, so if anyone knows any that I don't mention feel free to send
them.)
SAR again shows Cordelia thanking Xander honestly for his help,
and actually being offended when he basically blows her off. (Not
that I really blame her. She was being really open and grateful,
for once.) This is the first episode where we get some major foreshadowing
in the Xander/Cordy area, although it's not evident when taken by itself.
Having seen all of season two, however, and watching it again, the signs
are all there.
We see in SH
Cordelia going out of her way to help Buffy prepare for the night of St.
Vigeous, and then, stuck in a closet for hours with Willow, we see her
praying. Interestingly enough, this is the only time on BtVS
that anyone prays. Cordelia seems to trust Willow's advice, and doesn't
even ever complain about being stuck with her.
IMG is very light
on Cordelia, however, RB is very Cordy-centric. However, the
episode wasn't all that good, and I don't think Charisma Carpenter was
very good in it. It seemed more like a step backwards, sure she was
hanging with Buffy, but only because her college age boyfriend's friend
was interested. She was much flightier and kinda, to be blunt, like
a whore. She didn't even thank Buffy or Xander at the end, which was out
of character for her.
However, Halloween
makes up for it. Cordy is the only one (apart from Angel) who doesn't
change into their costume (and her costume was pretty wow, btw).
While it is Willow who takes control of the situation, Cordelia actually
is really, really nice to the amnesia-prone Buffy. I mean, she is
sweet and tries to comfort her and everything. Halloween marks
the second clue that a Cordy/Xander romance is in the near future.
When soldier/Xander offers Cordy his coat, she glances at him and, with
another credit to Charisma for conveying so much with a look, expresses
definite approval of what she sees.
LTM, as wonderful
an episode as it is, has practically no Cordelia, but she has quite a bit
of screen time in TDA. This is the episode where she lands her first
blow–kicking Ethan Rayne in the groin, and we see for the first time her
desire to help Buffy. In the library, when they are trying to research
Eyghon, she insists on helping.
The most important Cordelia
scene in TDA, however, is the scene when Cordelia and Xander fight.
As the two go at it, it is so obvious, even to me the first time I saw
the episode, that they are about two seconds away from jumping on each
other. If Willow hadn't been there, that fight would have led to
something that wouldn't have involved violence. (Well, maybe not
much!)
We didn't have to wait
long. WML1 opened with typical Cordelia scenes, but when she
got trapped in the basement with Xander, I knew, without a doubt, they
would kiss the next episode. It was inevitable. And I was not
let down. In WML2, they kissed not once, but twice! The first
fight they had was their worst yet, and this time Willow wasn't there to
break it up. The next day, in the science lab, they try to
put it past them, but only end up kissing again, more passionately then
the first.
Ted was definitely a turning point for Cordelia. While in
TDA and WML, Cordy was helping because she was around, in
secret, in Ted she was actually hanging with them, in school, by
choice. When Buffy was out of commission because she killed Ted,
and Giles takes over the patrolling, it was Cordelia that offers
to help, not Willow or Xander. At the end of the episode, she is
walking with the three of them like they're old friends, in school.
And when they spy Jenny and Giles kissing in the library, Buffy and Willow
walk away in disgust but Xander and Cordy spy in and leave, clutching and
giggling. Since they're doing the same thing, stealing kisses in
private, they think it's great.
And, of course, Ted
features a great Cordy line. X: "Look, I'm not gonna tell, they're
not gonna know. Not your friends, not my friends. You wanna go to the utility
closet and make out?"
C: " God! Is that all you ever think
about?...Okay." The clandestine relationship continues...
BE doesn't really
cover any new territory, although we do see that the relationship is still
around. We are treated to the furious groping in the utility closet,
complete with the traded insults. Then, of course, the bickering
over "unwanted sexual feelings" in health class, and Cordelia, when the
science teacher goes missing, tells the others that he presumed dead (G:
presumed by whom? C: Well, me) and wants to
look for him, with Xander, because he might fall out of a closet.
Emphasizing, of course, the closet. Later, we do get to see a possessed
Cordy hit Buffy with some sort of metal object, and then hit Xander with
her fist, and, even cooler, we get to see Xander do what everyone's wanted
to do at some point, and that is deck Cordelia. All entertaining.
In the inferior Surprise,
Joss covers no new territory, except Cordy and Xander toy with the idea
of bringing their relationship out in the open. However, another major
change occurs in Innocence. First, Cordelia is seemingly upset
at Xander's devotion to Buffy. "You'd never die for me," she
says almost sadly. Their kiss that they share a few minutes
later is very warm, a marked contrast to the furious groping of BE.
Of course, Willow stumbles upon the two, which forces them to come clean.
Cordelia also helps Xander obtain the rocket launcher which is used to
defeat the Judge, and, in the armory, looks very curious when Xander says
his best line of the episode: C: "Does looking at guns make you
want to have sex?" X: "I'm 17. Looking at linoleum
makes me want to have sex." Innocence seems to bring their
relationship up a notch, and it grows stronger as it faces the obstacle
of going public
In Phases, they try it out. And that's when the trouble starts.
Cordelia's gone public now and is expecting a real relationship.
Xander's still hung up on Buffy, and now, with Willow and Oz starting to
date, he's I full over-protective mode. Cordelia's getting a little
pissed. "Because when you're not babbling about poor, defenseless Willow,
you are *raving* about the all-powerful Buffy." She does have
a point. She went with Xander to "do things I can never tell my
father about because he still thinks I'm a... good girl," and he's
spending the entire time talking about Willow. Later, she tells Willow,
in the first bonding moment the girls share, she tells her "with Xander
it's always, 'Buffy did this', 'Willow said that'. Buffy, Buffy. Willow,
Willow. It's like I don't even exist." It's interesting how Cordelia
opens up to Willow, in the Bronze of all places. It seems like she
actually wants to be friends.
The next episode, BBB,
is the biggest Cordelia episode of the entire series. Like IG,
it is Cordelia-centric, but reveals so much more about her than IG
does. Actually, some of the questions posed in IG are finally
answered, and, as an aside, BBB marks the first time since IG
that Harmony has appeared.
As the episode starts
out, Harmony and Co. are mocking Cordelia for dating Xander, and it is
obvious that she's really hurt. That night, at the dance, they completely
blow her off when she comes in, and for a while, she sits by herself, trying
to think clearly. Xander comes up to her, gives her the necklace,
which she obviously really likes, and she even says he looks good.
"I let Buffy dress me. Not physically." What is actually
going thru Cordelia's mind isn't revealed, but what she says is "I want
to break up." Xander is really hurt, having just put himself
on the line, and she tries to apologize but he'll have none of it.
The next day she's back
with her friends, and when Xander walks by and Harmony mocks him, and he
just walks away, she stares after him. Again, Charisma's face reveals
much more about what she's feeling than any words in Marti Noxon's script,
which is a credit to both Carpenter and Noxon, who knows when to use words,
and when not to.
Anyway, Xander is really hurt and blackmails Amy into casting a spell,
but to do it he needs a personal item. Xander finds her to get the
necklace back.
Cordelia doesn't even
want to talk to him, but he tells her he's not going to make a scene scene
since all he wants in the necklace, and she tells him that it's in her
locker. Then she goes to her locker to take it out, and in my favorite
scene reveals that she was still wearing it. And she's pretty upset
to have to take it off. That scene shows more than any that she really
did care for Xander and is hurt by everything that is going on.
The next day, After
Xander "embraced the great Roofie spirit," Cordelia is still scrambling
for approval from Harmony and Co, and still not getting it, since now the
snob mob is obsessed with Xander. In short order she's attacked by
her friends, only to have Xander scoop her into his arms and carry her
out, until they are confronted by and ax-wielding Willow. Ironically,
it is Harmony that saves them, keeping Willow and her ax away from Xander
while the Xander and Cordy make good their escape. They find refuge
in Buffy's house, until Joycie starts to hit on Xander, causing Cordelia
to throw her out with a "keep you mom aged mitts off my boyfriend–former!"
The go to Buffy's room, where Xander says it will be safer. "Works
in theory," says a threat far worst then some loved-crazed girls: Angelus.
The demon pulls Xander out of the bedroom while Cordelia watches, terrified.
He is saved by death from Angelus by Drusilla, (also affected, and then
the mob saves him from Drusilla, but it is Cordelia who pulls him back
inside away from the mob. They take refuge in Buffy's basement, where
Cordelia accuses him of embracing the black arts to be popular. Xander
lets it slip that the spell was meant for her, and Cordelia is actually
really touched. "You mean the spell was for me?"
It doesn't last, and
the mob, including the ax-wielding Willow, a knife wielding Joyce, Jenny
Calendar, Harmony, and the lunch lady with a rolling pin, bust through
the door, descending on them. Xander tries to protect Cordelia, but
there's too many. Fortunately, Giles and Amy (the one girl who is
able to get over the obsession and actually do what's best for Xander)
break the spell, leaving a whole lot of very confused women.
The next day, Cordelia is with her friends again, when Harmony mocks Xander
and starts to gossip about some drivel. Cordelia's had enough, and
is finally going to make a stand. She calls Harmony a sheep and drops
the entire group, and chooses to be with Xander. This is the biggest
moment in the show for her, since she finally gives up her status, friends,
and popularity, and joins the Buffy gang full time. The two walk
off, arm and arm, smiling.
This was the trial by
fire for their relationship. She proved how much she cares about
him since she gave up everything that had been important for the previous
12 years, and he forgave her for hurting him like that. They were
back together, and stronger than ever.
Passion wasn't
very strong for Cordelia, since it was so Jenny/Giles/Buffy focused.
She showed her support for Buffy, from trying to offer good suggestions
at the beginning (albeit in a pretty tactless way,) and at the end just
being there after Jenny's murder. Killed by Death, while not
focusing on Cordelia, was completely stolen by Charisma. She showed
some jealousy at Xander's devotion to Buffy, but at the same time showed
her support of both of them by helping to find information on the Kinderstod.
The best example of this is when she brought Xander the donuts after the
fight they had when she accused him of being obsessed with Buffy's butt.
The best thing about
this episode is that it gave some insight into a dynamic that really didn't
exist before, the Giles/Cordelia paring. Giles got some great digs
in on Cordy this time. C: "Nobody told me I was supposed
to bring a gift. I was out of the loop on gifts." G: "It's,
it's tradition among, um... people." Cordelia's brutal honesty
was shown here, asking if "this isn't about you being afraid of hospitals
'cause your friend died and you wanna conjure up a monster that you can
fight so you can save everybody and not feel so helpless?" G:
"Cordelia, have you actually ever heard of tact?" C: "Tact
is just not saying true stuff. I'll pass." She may be "Homerically
insensitive, but she may right." Later, Giles starts to complain
at being stuck with her for the research. And during the research,
she starts asking all these questions and is really interested in what
the monsters are. Of course, at one time Giles says "It asks endless
questions of those with whom it's supposed to be working so that nothing
is getting done." As usual, Cordy doesn't get it. But she
does find the info on the monster, and gets really excited to tell Buffy
about it, and even a little upset that Buffy really doesn't want to hear
it from her.
IOHEFY wasn't strong on Cordelia, but she was the one who actually
stated Buffy's over identification with the ghosts. Go Fish,
however, showed a greater depth to the Cordelia/Xander relationship.
For the first time, Cordelia acted like she was proud of dating Xander
(I'm dating a member of the Sunnydale swim team) and her speech
to the fish guy that she thinks is Xander is one of the most honest she
has given, showing how much she cares about him.
Becoming didn't
give Cordelia much to do either, but in part one she does compliment Willow
(almost) and then deliver the funniest line of the entire series (about
the Troll: How about because you're a tiny, impotent Nazi with a bug
up his butt the size of an emu?) I actually had to watch this
scene several times since I was practically on the floor dying. All
she really does for the rest of the two parter is help with the curse,
although she tends to side with Xander on the "should we recurse Angel"
question, and, in the hospital, shows genuine concern for Willow (were
those actual tears?) when she's lying in a coma.
Cordelia has gone thru
such a radical personality transplant in the last season, she's hardly
recognizable in past episodes. However, it's not so much that she's
changed, it's that she's finally opened up with herself and allowed herself
to feel things. She realized she doesn't need to be scrambling over
the backs of anyone to win there approval, especially people who would
settle for being someone's third choice ‘cause he's a pretty popular guy
(Harmony, BBB). She's shown now to be very vulnerable
and insecure where Xander is concerned, and considering her track record
this isn't surprising. What this reveals is how deeply she cares
about him, and, in a larger sense, how much she has come to care about
all of the other Slayerettes. Her warm tones and friendliness to
Willow in the season opener are proof: that's how you would greet a friend
and not a casual acquaintance or especially someone you don't like.
Charisma Carpenter has done
a wonderful job making this development a gradual and believable process.
She consistently does things with her face and body that betray what her
mouth refuses to say, and thus makes her much more human. Also, she
has the most stunning smile I have ever seen. She is truly a talented,
beautiful woman, and consistently adds to every episode she's in, and has
gone much further than the "nice to look at" she was thru most of season
one.
Although she's still nice to look at.
click on the thumbnail to view the full sized
image
Charisma rock climbing: rock climbing
#1 rock climbing #2
rock climbing #3
Charisma on Baywatch:
#1 #2
#3 #4
#5 #6
#7 #8
#9 #10
#11 #12
#13
people
think that Cordelia should place herself above others because she is better.
back
to the actresses
see
the Buffy page
back
to my home page
Buffy the Vampire slayer, and all names and likenesses
are copyright © 1997 The WB Television Network and UltimateTV and
some pics are from the Official Buffy the
Vampire Slayer Site Baywatch
pics are © the Baywatch people, all other
are © someone else.
hosted by Geocities.
