Colliding Worlds - "Normal Again" and "Gingerbread"

I have to say that “Normal Again” was my favorite episode so far, besides “Hush.” I thought the way it dealt with colliding worlds – which, I want to point out, reminded me of “Gingerbread” – was actually brilliant, and of course, Sarah Michelle Gellar did a fantastic job portraying Buffy in her very lost, vagabond state.

What I noticed in both “Normal Again” and “Gingerbread” is that each episode deals with two multilayered views of reality; furthermore, in both cases, the demon is explicitly affecting the character’s ability to negotiate these viewpoints, let alone differentiate between them. In “Normal Again,” we are provided with an alternative understanding of the entire series; what’s more is that the vamp world Buffy has inhabited 24/7 up until this point actually communicates with this alternate world when Angel tells Buffy to “stop with the bloody hero trip! Let yourself live already!” The world of the mental institution also communicates with the vamp world; when Joyce reminds Buffy of the strength she has in her heart, Buffy uses those words to help her re-enter the vamp world (and thus thwarting Joyce’s intentions).

The situation is similar in “Gingerbread” in that it also deals with differing perspectives on Sunnydale – especially from the mother’s point of view (although in “Normal Again,” both of Buffy’s parents occupy the alternate world). What is it with these parental figures and their distorted – or more accurate (?) – vision? It ties into Turn of the Screw that way, and asks questions about origin, guidance, protection, safety, and homecoming. If Joyce is the source of Buffy’s struggles in these episodes, what does it say about the effectiveness (or lack thereof) of communication between parent and child? What does it say about our capacity to be swayed by different explanations of our lives and of the mysterious and ineffable things that we encounter in them? It’s as if the generational difference is posing as more than just that – and what do we do with that? I’m definitely not saying that’s what these two episodes were fundamentally about, but I am saying that I think an important crossover lies there.