Amy the Accidental Rat?

[WiccanKitty]

I have studied Amy Madison and the witchcraft of the Slayerverse for about...ok just a while. I noticed that when Amy cast the rat spell previously she called up the energy which swirled around her and targeted it at an object(ie.buffy).
When she performed the spell in Gingerbread she was tied to a stake. Her arm were thus taught to her sides. Thus leading me to create the Orouro(Orograhic) effect. When specific energy has nowhere to go it goes to where ever it is previously summoned.
The energy swirling around Amy show the power being summoned and without her directing it she suffer the end result for her spell. Whether this was intentional or not, she should have chosen a wiser spell.
What do you think...Refer to Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered for an example of Amy targeting the energy. What do you think?

[mucifer]

I think it's really easy to read too much into it. I do it all the time tho I must say. the writers have said before that they dont study demons and witchcraft and all that stuff by books they just make it up as they do the show.

[bzengo]

Anyway, I thought that Amy was intending to be a rat, so she could escape from the impending flammy death.

[Thanatopsis]

quote:

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Originally posted by bzengo:
Anyway, I thought that Amy was intending to be a rat, so she could escape from the impending flammy death.

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Really? I thought she was threatening to do something to them and it backfired.

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I guess...now that I know there's something to know I can't not know just because I'm afraid somebody'll know I know...you know?quote:

[juri-sempai]

Well the spell she performs in "Bewitched, Bothered, and Bewildered" is the EXACT same spell (word for word) that she used in "Gingerbread".

"Goddess Hecate, work thy will. Before thee let the unclean thing crawl!"

So she knew the outcome of that particular spell. Either Amy was planning on turning the whole parental gathering into a bunch of rats OR she was trying to escape by turning herself into the rat. Makes sense for the latter because, you know... escape! But it also doesn't make much sense because, you know... you're stuck as a rat! The spell caster can't reverse her spell if she's all non-exsistent with the verbage.

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Reincarnation: the futile attempt to get the milk back into the can

"I'm a blood-sucking fiend! Look at my outfit!"

[shellybean]

I didn't even consider that Amy's spell could have been by mistake. I don't think it was though. I think she did it to escape the fire. Willow should have just left her in rat form!

[Caity]

I've never even given the spell she does in Gingerbread a second thought - it was always my believe that she, as Calvin puts it, transmogrified (sp?) into a rat to escape the flames, and not to turn the crowd into rats..

hmm..

Caity

[bzengo]

Okay - its 4 am in the morning in Seattle. And I have to get up in two hours to get ready for work. What am I doing? Figuring out if Amy intended to rat herself in Gingerbread.

I officially have no life.

Answer: Amy did intend to rat herself.

Evidence: The shooting scripts speak of Amy's head/eye action, and Amy's arms.

In Bewitched, Bothered & Bewildered (BBB), Amy has, "Angry eyes boring into Buffy" and, "Amy raises her arms to Buffy."

In Gingerbread, "Now Amy lower her head and crosses her arms over her heart."

In BBB she's looking at Buffy and doing the arm thing at Buffy. In Gingerbread, Amy's head and arms are both directed at her own body.

Therefore, intentional rating. Do I win a cookie? Or a nice cheddar?

Here are the full quotes:

BBB, Act II:

BUFFY
What is this? You're two-timing me?

Amy starts to incant. Angry eyes boring into Buffy.

AMY
"Goddess Hecate, work thy will…"

Amy raises her arms to Buffy. Her eyes GO BLACK.

XANDER
Uh oh.

AMY
"Before thee let the unclean thing crawl!"

GINGERBREAD, Act IV:

CLOSE ON AMY

who is wild with fear - furious.

AMY
All right! You want to fry a witch!?
I'll give you a witch!

She throws her head back - starts to incant.

AMY
"Goddess Hecate, work thy will..."

Buffy glances at Willow. This sounds familiar.

BUFFY
Uh oh.

Now Amy lower her head and crosses her arms over her heart - she's GONE BLACK-EYED from her majik-making trance.

AMY
"Before thee let the unclean thing craw!"

BOOM - AMY SHUDDERS as her body rocks with A BALL OF PURE ENERGY. The MOOSTERS fall back - screaming with fear at this display.

A beat as the smoke clears. Amy appears be gone - until Willow sees A RAT scurry from the pyre and away to safety.

BUFFY
She couldn't do us first?

ENOUGH! I am going to try and get an hour or so of sleep. Ha!

bzengo
No!Life!in!Seattle

Edited to add: Hey - I'm a Floating Rose! Finally, uh, I mean, Good! Also, Woo Hoo.

Also edited to try and get the Script to center properly. Possibly edited several times; we shall see.

[This message has been edited by bzengo (edited February 15, 2002).]

[Caity]

Hey.... thanks for that Bzengo!!!

Groovy stuff

Caity

[bzengo]

quote:

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Originally posted by Caity:
Hey.... thanks for that Bzengo!!!

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Caity -

My treat!

bzengo
quote:

[Cipher]

How does she cross her arms and all when she's tied at the stake? Weren't her arms tied at her sides or behind her back? Also I think I remember her head being up or even thrown back (against the stake), not bowed.

Buffy's line seems to be a hint that Amy did it to escape. But would Amy be so foolish as to turn herself into a rat and be unable to turn back (since Willow's gonna die on the other stake, who does Amy think could turn her back)? Of course, Buffy wouldn't know whether Amy meant to rat herself or the MOOsters ( ), and might have assumed Amy had a further plan beying spending the rest of her life as a rat.

Amy trying to turn the MOOsters also has problems, because it wouldn't help her escape, and she'd never used the spell on more than one person before. But then, Amy might have been going more for revenge (a parting shot) more than escape. That seems consistent with her dialog ("You want to fry a witch?"), which said nothing about using her witchiness to escape, just being a witch since that's what they wanted to fry (or actually flame-broil).

I wonder if the script was originally written with Amy turning herself on purpose, but it was shot with more of the parting-shot backfiring angle because it made more sense. It also better fits the theme of the danger of messing around with powerful forces and brings Amy full-circle with her mother's dark footsteps (trapped by the dark power she herself called upon). If she did it to herself on purpose, it seems a little too positive (it worked, she escaped being burned at the stake) and being stuck is more of a minor "oops". A backfiring parting-shot seems more consistent with her character (at least going forward, especially the darker Amy in season 6).

Basically, it could be either way, and I doubt even the writers can agree on Amy's actual motives in that scene.

[supermus]

I always figured Amy did it to try and threaten the MOOsters into letting her go. Like, she was going to rat one of them, and then threaten to rat the rest of them unless they freed her and Willow and Buffy, at which point she would de-rat whoever she hit.