Out of Mind, Out of Sight
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| “Out of Mind, Out of Sight” | |||||||
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| Buffy the Vampire Slayer episode | |||||||
| Episode no. | Season 1 Episode 11 |
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| Written by | Joss Whedon (story) Ashley Gable and Thomas A. Swyden(teleplay) | ||||||
| Directed by | Reza Badiyi | ||||||
| Production no. | 4V11 | ||||||
| Original airdate | May 19, 1997 | ||||||
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| List of Buffy the Vampire Slayer episodes | |||||||
"Out of Mind, Out of Sight," also known as "Invisible Girl," is the eleventh and penultimate episode in the first season of Buffy the Vampire Slayer.
Contents |
[edit] Plot
Cordelia is talking excitedly with Harmony and her friends about the May Queen competition when Buffy bumps into them, spilling various slayer paraphernalia. Buffy makes up an excuse about borrowing it from Giles for a history project.
In English class, Cordelia comments that in The Merchant of Venice, Shylock is self-involved and whiny. She likens it to a bicycle rider she ran over; the girl whined about her pain and ignored Cordelia's traumatic experience. The teacher was agreeable to the viewpoint. After class, Cordelia arranges to talk with the teacher the next day to talk about her paper.
In the boys' locker room Mitch, Cordelia's boyfriend, is attacked by a baseball bat. Cordelia is outside campaigning for May Queen, while Xander and Willow mock Cordelia, referring to a past Buffy did not share. Buffy feels left out and explains that she was the May Queen at her old school. The conversation ends when they hear that Mitch was beaten and taken to the hospital. Buffy slips into the boys' locker room to find the word "LOOK" spray-painted on the lockers.
At the library, the Scoobies are stumped. They suspect a ghost. Meanwhile, Harmony asks Cordelia about Mitch's condition; Cordelia explains that he is alright but looking too bruised for the prom pictures. In a flashback, we see Cordelia and Harmony talking about Mitch's recent break-up with Wendy, and whether Cordelia would like to be his girlfriend. In the present, Harmony is pushed down the stairs and injures her ankle by the invisible force, as Buffy approaches. Principal Snyder arrives, and Buffy's friends must distract him from Buffy, who runs off to follow an invisible source of laughter. The invisible thing bumps into Buffy before escaping. This is not a ghost. Xander suggests a cloak of invisibility worn by the Greek gods. Buffy dismisses the theory because of the pettiness of the crimes. As the Scoobies disperse, Buffy follows the sound of a flute. In the library, Giles is surprised by Angel, who offers to get a book of prophecies, the Pergamum Codex. Another flashback sequence sees Cordelia and Harmony discussing a lecture and ignoring another girl, Marcie. In the present, Cordelia wins the May Queen award. Looking over Willow's list of missing kids, Buffy suspects Marcie when she sees she played the flute. Tracking Marcie, Buffy finds her hideout just as Marcie finds Mrs. Miller, Cordelia's literature teacher, and chokes her with a plastic bag. Cordelia, arriving a short while afterwards, saves Mrs. Miller. An invisible hand writes "LISTEN" on the blackboard.
As Willow looks over Marcie's yearbook, she sees it is full of the generic "Have a nice summer!" greeting, showing nobody actually knew Marcie. She is horrified to find her own greeting to Marcie, "Have a great summer!". Giles realizes that Marcie became invisible because nobody ever noticed her. In a flashback sequence, we see Marcie being ignored in class, and becoming invisible. As the Scoobies realize that Marcie really is after Cordelia, the latter walks into the library asking Buffy for protection. They decide to use Cordelia as bait, and to have Buffy bodyguarding her. As Cordelia is getting dressed, she confides in Buffy that she is lonely too, but being popular "beats being lonely by yourself." Marcie lures Willow, Xander and Giles into the boiler room, where she closes the door and opens the gas, then grabs Cordelia as she is changing. Buffy follows Cordelia and finds her unconscious. Marcie surprises Buffy, kicking her and knocking her out.
Buffy wakes up, finding herself tied to a chair near Cordelia, similarly indisposed. They see the word "LEARN" on a curtain, and Marcie explains that Cordelia is the lesson, or will be when she makes a mockery of Cordelia's face by surgery. Buffy kicks the instrument tray at Marcie and frees herself from the ropes. Angel rescues the Scoobies, and shuts off the gas. Buffy concentrates, listening to Marcie, knocks her into a curtain before knocking her out. Two FBI agents arrive to haul Marcie away. Cordelia comes by the day after the coronation to thank them for helping her, much to their surprise, though her reaction when Mitch arrives shows she is not ready to renounce her popularity. Meanwhile, Marcie is taken to a school full of invisible students by the FBI. She sits down in class and opens her textbook. The title reads "Assassination and Infiltration" (as an apparent in-joke from the production team, the text on the page contains the lyrics to the Beatles' White Album song "Happiness Is a Warm Gun") to which the now-homicidal Marcie chuckles and says, "Cool.".
[edit] Production
[edit] Starring
- Sarah Michelle Gellar as Buffy Summers
- Nicholas Brendon as Xander Harris
- Alyson Hannigan as Willow Rosenberg
- Charisma Carpenter as Cordelia Chase
- Anthony Stewart Head as Rupert Giles
[edit] Guest starring
[edit] Co-Starring
- Mercedes McNab as Harmony Kendall
- Nicole Bilderback as Cordette
- Amy Chance as Aphrodesia
[edit] Translations
- French title: "Portée disparue" ("Gone Missing")
- Italian title: "Lontano dagli occhi" ("Out of sight" (literally: far from the eyes). The Italian proverb sounds like this: "Lontano dagli occhi, lontano dal cuore", meaning "Far from the eyes, far from the heart")
- German title: "Aus den Augen, aus dem Sinn" ("Out of sight, out of mind" (sic))
- Japanese title: "去る者日々に疎し" ("Sarumono Hibi ni Utoshi" - "Missing Person, Unknown Days")
- Spanish title: "Salir de la Mente, Salir de la Vista" ("Out of Mind, Out of Sight")
“Invisible Girl” pulled in an audience of 2.3 million households.[1]
[edit] Continuity
[edit] Arc significance
- This is the first episode where Cordelia begins to have a rapport with Buffy and the Scoobies beyond simply ridiculing them.
- Angel gives Giles the Pergamum Codex, which allows him to accurately predict Buffy's death in the season finale.
[edit] Timeline
- Stories that take place around the same time in the Buffyverse:
| Location, time (if known) |
Buffyverse chronology: Spring 1996 - Spring 1997 (non-canon = italic) |
|---|---|
| Los Angeles, spring 1992* | Film version of Buffy the Vampire Slayer |
| Los Angeles, spring 1996 | Buffy graphic novel: The Origin |
| Los Angeles, summer 1996 | Buffy graphic novel: Viva Las Buffy |
| Los Angeles, summer 1996 | Buffy graphic novel: Slayer Interrupted |
| Los Angeles, summer 1996 | Buffy graphic novel: A Stake to the Heart |
| Various locations, 1845-1997 | WB Buffy promo: History of the Slayer |
| Sunnydale, January 1997 | B1.00 Unaired Buffy the Vampire Slayer pilot |
| Sunnydale, January 1997 | B1.01 Welcome to the Hellmouth |
| Sunnydale, January 1997 | B1.02 The Harvest |
| Sunnydale, January 1997 | B1.03 Witch |
| Sunnydale, February 1997 | B1.04 Teacher's Pet |
| Sunnydale, February 1997 | B1.05 Never Kill a Boy on the First Date |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.06 The Pack |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.07 Angel |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | Buffy the Animated Series unaired four-minute pilot |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.08 I, Robot... You, Jane |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.09 The Puppet Show |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.10 Nightmares |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | Buffy book: Night of the Living Rerun |
| Sunnydale, spring 1997 | B1.11 Out of Mind, Out of Sight |
| Sunnydale, May 1997 | B1.12 Prophecy Girl |
| Sunnydale, summer 1997 | Buffy book: Coyote Moon |
| Sunnydale, & L.A., summer 1997 | Buffy anthology book: How I Survived My Summer Vacation |
* Because the 1992 motion picture Buffy the Vampire Slayer is not considered to be canon, its date in the chronology reflects its release date. Because The Origin graphic novel adjusts the events of the movie to fit in-line with the series, its place in the chronology reflects those events having occurred approximately one year prior to Welcome to the Hellmouth.
[edit] References
- ^ "Nielsen Ratings for Buffy's First Season." <http://home.insightbb.com/~wahoskem/buffy1.html>
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