buffy7

Lessons

Yay the Skittle's still with us! And it's still sour. That Skittle got me through season six (Sky One viewers know what I'm talking about)
Arghh - they put the Warren skinning in the "previously on BtVS", as if I needed to see that again
Istanbul, not just the subtitle but the cheesy kasbah music as well. Their Istanbul is marginally more convincing than their Africa, but on the whole I think they should stick to locations they don't have to fake.
What's Istanbul got to do with anything? I thought it was going to be all Spike type stuff, but nooo, just random girl being chased.
I could really do without Dawn the Vampire Slayer tutorials. Not that she seems to be doing so well on the practical side. All the talk of 'He's got the power' has left me with that song from the Transformers movie running through my brain. (You've got the touch, you've got the power...) Gotta love 80's power ballads. Also the other late 80's nineties song, kinda techno I think. It's stuck in my brain and won't stop. ('Snap' did that song according to one of the girls at work))
"I'm the Slayer, go kill this innocent girl in front of me" How does the vamp not know this is a set up?
Everyone misses the first time. Hearts aren't always where you think they are
Haven't seen a decapitation for a while. I still think that Buffy should save up for a flamethrower and use that. It would be a lot easier.
Doesn't that sword have a scabbard?
Couldn't they shift the school a few feet to the left/right and not build on top of the hellmouth?
Got to love the Tabula Rasa group scream on the credits. Cracks me up every time.
Where's Westbury exactly? It's pretty. They probably want us to think of the Westbury white horse in Wiltshire, but this is Westbury Mendip about 15 miles southwest of the extremely demonic town of Bath
Pretty Horse (channelling my inner 5yr old).
Love the big skewbald's belated response to "action"
Heels down! Giles. Sit on your bum and relax. I should know, I rode exactly like that for about six years. Except my toes stuck out more
Bullshit, half the time he's making it up, ninety percent of that demon knowledge was blarney too
As it is to us all. A bunch of people swim in synchronisation Giles, it's not easy to do but the principle is very simple
The coven are all women? Does Giles have a harem?
Sausage and potatoes in case you need the translation
So, not an addiction? There's last season's carefully crafted metaphor out of the window then. Giles states what most people have been arguing - that Willow's problem with magic wasn't a *addiction*. It wasn't, she liked the *power* of using magic, which what he argued last year. At least Giles was consistent even if the story line wasn't...
I didn't get the Harry Potter reference, beyond that it was Harry Potter. I'm one of the few that hasn't read the books yet. Can't see Giles in the pointy hat somehow. Actually, I have seen Giles in the pointy hat and I can remember not liking it very much.
I love the interaction between Giles and Willow. 'Do you want to be punished?' 'I just want to be Willow'. Although if Giles was offering me the choice... Hey, hey, family server!
Wow, Xander, I'm impressed. That's a very posh car, and suit for that matter, that Xander's got. Maybe his stock really did go up when he dumped Anya
"Made cereal"? Oh, thank you Xander
Why is Dawn dressed for golfing?
Xander rebuilt the school. Traitor!
Safe as California houses
The Principal's office is about twice the size of the old library. That says a lot for the school's priorities
Putting the Hellmouth under the Principal's office was inspired, a truly esoteric vengeance
MommyBuffy is rather amusing - Xander and Buffy have a whole family vibe with Dawn going on that I can't decide whether its adorable or disturbing. Especially with the whole back-to-school present for Dawn.
Back to school gift? I want one!
Naked Wesley! Sorry, there was naked Wesley on the trailer for the premiere of 'Angel' during the ad-break. Wes is the sex-god of A:TS. All yummy and disheveled.
I know the Principal from somewhere and it's going to bug me until I remember
Mom-hair? More like mom-blouse, been raiding Joyce's wardrobe have they?
"Deadening young minds." Finally a Principal with the right idea of his job
Can anyone just wander around those incredibly wide halls? My school is nothing special but we have security cameras and special door lock cards that I keep mysteriously breaking. You'd have thought that the brand-new Sunnydale High would have something like that.
Please, "No student access"? That's an invitation if ever I saw one.
Look how big those toilets are!
Why does Buffy flinch from the zombie thing? What happened to those highly tuned Slayer reflexes?
"Include never having to do this again" and killing my paranoid embarrassing sister between classes. Poor Dawn, she was doing so well
The singing couple are creepy. Oh god, his voice is higher than hers.
Sadly, I just preempted Anya and Halfrek.
Yegads! What is Anya wearing? A friend of mine pointed out the 'Crimea' comment means that Cecily and Halfrek cannot be the same person, as the Crimean was 40 years before that scene in 'Fool For Love'. Unless she was already a demon?
Punishment enough, surely. I'd rather have the amphibian
"It means something" yes, it means that Sunnydale kids no longer have to travel to another town to be educated
Someone call Lionel Hutts, I feel like suing a construction company... Nice construction work, Xander. Dawn through the floor. That would be a bad thing for her, but good for us, if it meant no more whining or tantrums.
Willow seems have a hotline to the Hellmouth. Is the Giles hug part of the package?
Is it me or do some of the England sequences seem kind of dismal and bleak in contrast to the chipperness of some of the Sunnydale sequences?
No broken bones after a fall like that?
Oh dear, they seem to have hired a plank of wood to play 'Carlos', or at least he acts as well as one
Dawn's new friend Kit looks rather like Amy don't you think? Or am I just going mad?
"Thought he was just pissed" but was in fact dead, the ultimate not only, but also
The Principal's odd - I can't decide whether he's a Flutie or a Snyder yet. When he introduced himself I thought he said he was 'Robin Hood' (Robin Hood, Robin Hood riding through the Glen...)
Wow, Buffy! What a good idea, a cell phone. Shame they've had them on 'Angel' for a couple of years now...
"Where did they go?" Not that far
Later on... 'I'm the one that dates dead guys, and, no offence, but they were hotties' : Buffy finally admits she's a necrophiliac.
"...cheat" yes, she can be taught
Gagh! The hair! Spike, tortured by his spanking new soul, forgets to top up his roots. My god, that's some of the most terrifying hair I've ever seen outside the realms of flashback. I was expecting something scary behind that door, but it was only Spike, and the hair doesn't distress me as much as it does everyone else
Real yes, sane, no
No Buffy, duck! From Spike it could have been an endearment, but it wouldn't have been an actual duck. Waterfowl are about the only thing which don't dabble in the Hellmouth. Bless her, she's not that bright.
Who needs Drusilla - meet the new character Spikilla/Druke. Specialities include walking around sans shirt and talking a load of old cobblers
Spike's particular form of madness includes an inability to use buttons and peroxide. Even Insane, and sounding oddly like Dru, Spike can still be sarcastic.
No Xander, contracty badness, you're supposed to have rebuilt the place so it doesn't fall apart inside a week
That was nicely anti-climatic
Dawn, Kit and That Guy are going to be Scooby Gang: The Next Generation. I shudder to think what'll be like.
Why would he want to hire Buffy - the girl who has issues about her issues - to counsel other kids?
He is fairly cool for a Principal, but he's young and fresh and new to the job. He'll be cured of all that soon enough
Warren, isn't he dead? Oh I get it
The First Evil obviously hasn't been in a girl's school recently.
I'm not a number I'm a free vampire! Sorry
"Weasel didn't like the sound of that at all..."
"Pathetic schmuck" well we've been saying that for the past two years
I knew it was about power, I also knew that Buffy was the original evil
Love the morphing evildoers, and it was nice to see some old faces again. My first reaction to the shape-shifting at the end? That it nice to see all the types of Big Bad's they've dealt with over the years. My second was that the Master really is rather camp. It'll be fun to see him back though.

Beneath You

Yet another hugely long 'previously' I think they included most of last episode as well. Is the story this week that thin?
Is the tattoo parlour actually significant? Or supposed to be 'oooh all dangerous' Cos, really it doesn't appear to be either
That is *pink* hair.
Why the hardcore techno 'Alias' rip off? I thought this was an 'Alias' rip-off (not that I've ever sat down watched Alias, as it happens), but I've been informed that it is in fact an homage to 'Run Lola, Run', which 'Alias' used as inspiration in their first episode. Not that I've seen Lola either
How fast could those robed things run, anyway? Surely there’s a speed restriction in a robe.
Are we going to get a slayer-type-girl killed off every week? There must be a limit to the numbers, surely?
Cool 'Tremors'. That’s either the biggest gopher in the world or Bugs Bunny really should have turned left at Alberquerque. I thought that Buffy had moved from the WB.. So why is Bug's Bunny's tunnel making a guest appearance?
AH! RAT! Rat! Rat! Rat! Huge big brown evil scaly tailed RAT! Sorry, I have rat fear. I had to shut my eyes and get Lizard to come and tell me when it had gone away. Surely all that babbling would scare the rat off?
“Everybody who are me” Oh, the issues this girl has with her grammar alone...
They really seem to be pushing the family vibe with the three of them don't they?
The Principal is so trying it on with Buffy. it's quite sweet really.
Buffy's a member of the faculty? Is this to make up for having none of her own?
The power of detention. It is a wonderful thing.
Unfortunate metaphor from the Principal there
Principal Snyder too, thinking about it.
Rat! Again. This episode should come with a rat warning, "Warning, this episode contains flashing rats"
That seems like a suitably gloomy Britain.
Sarky, yet concerned Giles. Aww. I want one. I'd want to stay too.
I wouldn't want to leave that and go to California either
That taxi driver's about to call it a day and bugger off back to Bath if they don't get a move on
I do like Giles' s attempts at pep-talks. At least he's acknowledging the problem, and reassuring that she is needed, regardless of the attitudes she may face. Plus the implication is that she'll always have Giles anyway. Plus, I can't see Xander turning his back on her. Buffy & Dawn may have more issues. Xander will always take her back
Ooh, does the dog die? I hope the dog dies.
That's an extending lead, she shouldn't be being pulled along, of course a sensible person would have let go. And a sensible dog would have heard the giant tremor worm coming and gone home
See, I knew that dog was never going to survive the scene
Methinks Xander's on the pull.
As long as it devours Yorkshire terriers it can keep on existing...
What, exactly, is Spike wearing? That is a very tight, very blue shirt.
"You've changed" and wasted and peroxided
Much better hair
That was a quick recovery from the rampant dru-isms he was spouting earlier on (does that sentence actually make any sense whatsoever?)
Visions? isn't that Cordelia's job
Ooh, threatening!Dawn, I'm shaking in my socks
Is it just me, or is there a lack of music throughout this episode? I heard it at 'key' moments, but apart from that, I swear there were several points there was no background music at all.
It's the word I'd use, she's skittish, justifiably skittish, but skittish none the less. Oh, I can think of a few words but unfortunately this is a family server.
Saving the world through lack of any other plans. I like it
That woman looks like Anya.
Xander and Nancy are so awkward trying to play it cool, it's quite endearing.
What did you do to piss off the demon mole?
Tremors! Quick, find a cliff to run it off.
Ooh teeth. So the Hellmouth is supposed to be literal now?
Clinic Anya
Why couldn't Anya have had that hair last week, and saved me the screams of horror at the TV! Not convinced about the blouse, although it's an improvement from the Edwardian monstrosity.
Was that an expletive or a description?
Unnecessary S/X implication there. Love that little X/S look.
Spike channels his Season 2 Persona, cocky, brash, none of the angst.
I don't understand the friction between Anya and Spike.
Climb idiot, climb!
Blatant stunt-woman to the rescue.
Why doesn’t anyone ever fall in a skip full of pointy objects or building materials? Especially since that's what skips are usually full of
Oooh. Ouch. That can't be healthy
Must have been an announcement in the Demonic Weekly, as everyone seems to know something's coming. Double page spread by the fuss they're all making.
So this is Spike demon and William soul having an argument? That or he's just gone completely bonkers
That's a pretty new cross that Buffy's wearing. It's about time she remember to wear the practical jewellery.
That seemed a little extreme just to stop him taking his trousers off. I mean, I know it's not pleasant...
Not if you call it ‘servicing’
However, the sarcasm's still intact. Hey, I just got pre-empted by Spike
Spike's been reading 'The Golden Bough' again hasn't he?
JM has a spotty back. He needs to exfoliate
Oh, ow. Comedy smoke! "Mrs Niggerbater's exploded!"

Same Time, Same Place

That was one zoned-out extra.
Aww. The yellow crayon sign is sweet. Cheesy, but sweet all the same.
Yeah Xander, we're amazed too. Better than saving the world by talking out of his are I suppose, although as far as I remember, he was pretty much doing that
Go Xander the non-judgmental. I don't think he's the one that'll have a problem with Willow.
'Where's Willow'. Is that like 'Where's Wally'?
Could they not arrange to check the flight times?
Willow looks fresh for someone's who's just had a transatlantic flight.
Airport Willow looks upset they're not there, but like she almost expected it that way.
I really do like the new, longer hair on Willow.
Graffitti-ing usually means being alone at night to do it which might explain why we don't really see a lot of it in Sunnydale.
The demon has 'Shadow Of The Vampire' nails. Those fingernails are still the most unpleasant thing I've ever seen in a movie
Really should lock that door.
This isn't the 'Wishverse' she's sent herself to is it? Cos that would be interesting to say the least. Whose are the clothes on the bed?
Perhaps putting Willow back in the room where she cradled her dying lover in her arms and swore vengeance on her enemies is not the best idea if she's trying to get better?
I think that was the shooting we just heard. Shudder
Aww. Forlorn Willow on the sofa. That's a really comfy-looking sofa. Which Willow shouldn't be lying down on without taking her shoes off first
The microwave's got the same time on it. Ahh, now I understand the title (took me long enough).
They're very quick to think Willow ran away. I was ready to slap Dawn when she immediately assumes Willow's evil again. Grrr.
What on earth is Buffy wearing (that bizarre white dress top see-through thing)!
Shock! Horror! I agreed with Dawn for once when she made the point about people never asking for help. The world as I know it is ending.
She's behind you!
Willow really hit Anya where it hurts - in the business.
Anya tells it like it is 'You are responsible'
Insert usual rant about USA's insistence on calling football 'soccer'.
Love Anya's summary of what's happened so far, and Willow's reaction to it all.
Insane in the head I would have said. I like the idea of "insane in the basement" as a medical condition
I like Willow's outfit
Well, that's a secure building site
Very brief flash of skinless person
I wonder if Xander's crew get paid for their unannounced day off. Does it come out of their annual leave?
They should have more faith in Giles. He sent her home in a 'Homeward Bound' kind of way, not to be The Return Of The Eviscerator
Spike has spent too much time in the school
So, Willow can interact with the 'lesser Scoobies', Anya and Spike. Maybe she's more akin to them now. Hmm. There do seem to be parallels between them.
Poor Willow's starting to wonder if she really did do it, the precedent's pretty convincing
Spike is still cuckoo, but able to make coherent points - he points out that Willow is capable of doing the bad things, even if she hasn't this time.
Willow doesn't know about what happened with Spike and Buffy, does she?
High School Spike may be mad, but he's the most perceptive.
Spike is a guardian of the Hellmouth?
Strange how Anya's more insightful as a demon
Anya and Willow automatically assume the worst of each other with the question and answer session. However once that's cleared they seem remarkably sensitive to each others need to 'do the right thing'. I want more of the Anya/Willow bonding. I think it could be good.
This spell gave me flashbacks to 'Doppelgangland'
The carpet would be my first concern
I'm still not sure how useful the demon tracking technique would be in Sunnydale
Flight plans for transportations? Just how exactly would you file that?
Dawn carries on her master plan to usurp Willows place with the research skills.
Viscera is going to be Xander's word of the day.
Buffy, always ready to believe the worst.
That's a predator, not a parasite, as a rule, parasites don't kill
Spike, aka a bloodhound.
Why would Spike smell? It's not like he sweats
Insane Spike is fun.
'I'm insane, what's his excuse?'. Believe me Spike, you're not the first to ask that question.
That's a dreadfully faked cave entrance
That creature is very Gollum-like.
I don't think trapping Willow in there bodes well.
'Your friends left you here'. Really tapping into the old insecurities.
Where did Spike go?
That's a huge nose.
Those nursery rhymes are freaky. and the demon looming over Willow is icky.
Paralysis doesn't make you go stiff. If it was muscle paralysis, then yes, it probably would
Posable Dawn is fun. And a lot less annoying.
Scroll down, Buffy.
Big cheer for Anya getting them to help Willow.
Oh real torture, she can't even use the remote.
'Lock you in, nice white skin'. Okay, that's gross. Although Sky cut it - the US showing was much ickier supposedly.
Glad to see Spike and Anya still being useful, although Buffy & Xander not accepting.
I got all misty-eyed when Anya started comforting Willow.
She killed something with her thumbs? I really want to do that! I'm with Xander. Eww!
Couldn't afford the 'Xander's feet passing through Willow' effect
Which room is Willow in here?
That can't be the most comfortable way to sit with a lacerated stomach. Can't you meditate lying down?
Willow made her fears (not being noticed) come true? Cop-out ending or what? Buffy freaks at the thought that someone might be more powerful than she is.
I don't know whether to feel touched or nauseated by the 'sharing of strength' scene at the end. Somehow, though, I doubt it'll be that easy.
Again we see Willow's touching faith in American medicine, preferring to use her draining, unnatural meditating technique rather than getting some codeine on prescription

Help

Ugh, don’t leave the case open like that. When I die I want the coffin nailed shut
If I was being laid out, I'd insist on having a room by myself. I wouldn't want to be lying around on a room full of dead people. And it's that kind of non-joining attitude that kept me out of all the best clubs in school
How the hell did Xander, Buffy and Dawn secrete themselves into coffins to begin with? Did the funeral director turn around to find he had lost three grieving relatives?
I’m telling you Buffy, flame thrower.
Those coffins really shouldn’t be designed to open from the inside.
How are they going to explain the body loss the next day to the family? Someone at that Funeral Home is going to be fired for losing that body. Buffy never thinks the effect she's having on the economy, putting all these people out of work
Azura Skye? Oh please. Her name’s probably Kim Brown or something.
Bullies aren’t insecure, often they’re all too bloody secure and should be hung from their ankles over vats of boiling acid until their victim decides otherwise.
Oh, I want Buffy’s computer.
Go victim girl! Yeah, go on, pound on him some more. She shouldn't pound on him any more, but she should let everyone know that she did and that she's prepared to do it again if provoked. That way she probably won't have to
Hasn’t Willow dropped out of college too?
That's a surprisingly good analogy from Xander
Xander registering his disapproval with the "cracking my friends' skulls open like coconuts" plan
That was a nice touch with the pebbles on Tara’s grave from Jewish!Willow.
Damn it! Missed the beginning. Willow's sitting by Tara's grave saying 'It's me' Did I miss much?
I'm already misty eyed, Willow-angst is like a immediate trigger for my tears. I'm such a sap.
Buffy "counseling" the normal selection of oddballs. Or is that a contradiction in terms?
I worry about the military in TV-land. With the exception of Jack O'Neill, everybody always joins up with the Marines. What happens to the regular Army, or the Navy? They never get any recruits
Oh, you've got to give the 'gay' guy points for trying
Is she the girl with the creepy stalker cabinet from 'Smallville'?
Does the French Foreign Legion take women? No. Also it was disbanded years before they made 'The Man From UNCLE', so unless she gets a sex change and uses The Time Tunnel, she's stuck with going to college
Well, at least the girl is organised.
"I'm going to die". Well that's a way to change the subject.
Jeez Buffy, under the ground means under the ground. A bit of a Flash Gordon approaching moment, I think.
Principals office Principal Wood almost reminds me of a 'Watcher', he's quite fun, so he's either evil, or doomed. Still want Giles back though.
Beverly Hills?
There's a dance?
"I don't usually get a heads up before someone dies" Buffy drops a clanger
This guy has a weird snake thing going on
Oh go out with the boy with silly hair. He seems nice. Why shouldn't she say yes, it'll make him happy, and if she's dead she won't actually have to go
Dawn sucks at undercover. Subtle, she's not.
My god, they have ceramics class? What kind of an excuse for an education is that?
Read! Read whatever you want! Read anything! Just read the homework assignments too.
Heh. Dawn's funny when she get annoyed at being classed as Buffy's sister.
If Mike's a "cutie" then the quality of males in Sunnydale High has seriously dipped in the past few years
Nice touch that she said no one more time than he asked
Willow's hair is really pretty. Seriously, that's the style I'd like.
The doctor just gave her medical records to an unqualified, part-time 'counselor'?
'Have you googled her?' The look on Xander's face is priceless
Xander superbly summing up my views about poetry. "Pretentious inner turmoil". I've got to remember that
What bloody awful poetry. Pretentious inner turmoil is right.
'I'm over you sweetie'. Aww. Nice to see them acknowledge the old Xander-Willow dynamic though.
'Doogie Howser' fic? The mind boggles. Well, not Doogie Howser, but otherwise, yeah
"Lawyers up" cool, Lawyer Poker. I'll see your Wolfram and Hart and raise you a Fish, Cage and Associates
Oh my God Buffy, you just can’t turn up at someone’s house and do that! Isn't this a breach of 'patient' confidentiality? It's bad enough she's discussed with the rest of the gang, although I can see the logic if she thinks it supernatural to get them involved. Surely, if the problem had lain with the father tackling it like this would just make things worse?
Not the sharpest apple in the barrel, surely that's a good thing? Apples are meant to be blunt
There should have been an apology in there somewhere
Prophecy Girl speech, version 2
More robed types, this isn’t good. Chanty, chanty in the Library, just like old times. Why is it that no learning ever happens in Sunnydale High’s library?
We say Thank God Its Friday all the time, it’s like a staffroom mantra.
That's cool. I wonder what the html code is to have a static overlay and have the background move like that. It looks too complex to just be a frame. Sorry, I have webmistress envy
Spike's letting the dye job go again
In other news, Spike still appears to be insane.
"There's evil" well, that narrows it down
Why hasn't anybody got in touch with Angel about Spike? Not only might he be able to help, but surely he'd want to know, especially if Spike's soul doesn't have a clause attached
Poor boy, he's really quite sweet
Ignore him Dawn, he’s an idiot.
Ah, he's evil not just a twat
Why use a cleaver? What’s wrong with a knife?
Oyster, Buffy. Blue Oyster Cult.
Scrabble for it Cassie!
Sorry I was almost to late so save the day (well, evening) but I had to stop and do my roots
That was an oddly edited bit of fight sequence. Did Sky cut it for some reason?
Spike to the rescue, although still insane. Worrying that he's able to overcome the chip now though.
Hey that's a good question. Where are my infinite riches?
That's how bad the demon is, it both bites and blows
10-4? Bitch.
Good, I like that she died anyway and they didn't cop out. Yet more death. Lovely. This is depressing. And *now* I get the significance of her name

Selfless

Hey, it's Olaf! Looks like this'll be an Anya-centric episode then.
I just spotted Tara in one of those scenes.
Do you think they want to remind us that Anya's a demon at the moment?
Dawn, no no no! Act like yourself, not like everybody else! Dawn, shut up, I think Willow can remember what to do at College. She's been there before, you haven't. And thank goodness that was her Yes-Ma’am scene for this episode.
Which room is this?
This one says giddy apparently
Xander still worries about Anya? Aww. Although he was the one that jilted her, so I’m not too sympathetic.
At the frat house (as it turns out)
Well, it looks like you let everyone have too much beer and then have a cockerel fight Anya
Lots of blood. Ick. Anya’s got blood all over her? This is really not looking good for the ex-ex-vengeance demon.
This is a surprisingly accurate flashback. It almost looks like they're researched the time period
Oh my Goodness, Olaf is really Jerry from ER! I just about split my sides laughing when I recognised him.
I love the old-fashioned film effect, and the Python-esque extremely specific translation. I'm impressed that they both seem to be speaking the language. Although with the subtitles am reminded of Monty Python and the Holy Grail - which is helped by all the bunnies. Although none of them have shown signs of attacking people yet. The Python sketch this really looks like is the Little Red Riding Hood one, with the daschund and the CIA. Is the language genuine though, or are they just talking really fast with a guttural accent?
She needs to shower, not just wash her hands. 'Out damned spot!' Anya does an impression of Lady Macbeth.
Drusilla was insane, though.
In the basement Spike sees Dru? That’s twistedly sweet. I always liked them as a combination - they complemented each other much better then Spike and Buffy do.
That isn't Buffy he's talking to, right?
Hah! See!
"You're different" yeah, nuts
Spike has an 'An Officer And A Gentleman' moment. 'I've got no-where else to go'. Want to stay with me, Spike?
I love that Sunnydale High School keeps it's spare furniture on the Hellmouth.
Am very confused with the episode though so far.
Willow really did like going to school when it wasn't trying to eat her didn't she? I find this an alien concept
She used magic in her exams? No fair - I could have done with something like that.
Willow looks very young here, even the short skirt and the knee boots have kind of a season two feel abut them. I like Willow's outfit - it’s kind of odd, but in a good way I think, she carries it off well.
Anya is not at all conspicuous in that coat, oh no.
Nice to see Willow being genuinely friendly to Anya.
Bless her, Willow really is a geek.
Uh-oh, that's bit of a give-away
That looks a little messy. Poor old Willow always finds the bodies in frat houses, doesn’t she?
'I take it back’ Want to bet she made a vengeance wish?
You only need your heart ripped out once. After that, it's sort of redundant
Then they got what was coming to them, get over it.
Spiders that tear your heart from your chest? I knew those things were evil.
All together now, "It's behind you!"
Black eyes on Willow. Oh dear. Magic’s under control for the moment but I'm sure it'll have repercussions.
The 'Olaf and Aud' Home Movies are hysterical
How come Aud is speaking English to D'Hoffryn?
I just like that fact that Anya was always like this, it's not adside effect of the demon thing
Bit of an odd question, but what's D'Hoffryn's motive for punishing cheating men?
D'Hoffryn is cool, with an excellent sense of humour
I'd always wondered how D'Hoffryn got Anya into the vengeance gig.
It's going to drop on your head... See. Well, that's a practical use of time. I always wondered what school personnel do in their spare time
Why is Buffy memo-ing this? Does she keep a record of things killed?
Anya doesn't look too pleased with what she's done. In fact she looks pretty upset.
I don't think Willow's too happy either.
Props to Willow for trying to talk to Anya first and resolve it without getting the others involved - Willows now less likely to be judgemental. It sounds to me like Anya's trying to convince herself as well as Willow that she likes what she's doing.
That Spider-demon is so fake looking.
It's probably a squirrel
Good shot!
Where did Xander's facial injury go?
So, now she decides that Anya must die?
So, how exactly is Anya, capitalist extraordinaire responsible for the Communist Revolution? Or did I miss something? I wasn't convinced about this 1905 Russian Revolution until I looked it up in my books. There was one, but why not pick the 1917 one that more people know about?
Ooh, this is getting quite deep now.
Xander, don’t you think that if Willow could have brought them back to life, then she already would have? Not to mention the fact she could then have saved Tara as well. Doofus
The rest of the speech is fabulous - Xander makes a load of good points. Exceptions are made for Buffy and her ‘people’ but not for anyone else or their people.
The Lie! The Lie! Finally, it gets brought up! About bloody time.
Of course he doesn't remember, it was season two.
Buffy still thinks Angel is her One True Love. Bleurgh. Guess no one’s told her about the Angel and Cordy situation then?
"That all worked out okay" Willow looking on the bright side
Um, Watcher's handbook, Watcher's Council?
"I am the Law". Buffy really does think the world revolves around her.
Xander will have to find another way because Buffy won't bother
What's she pissed at Willow for?
She takes a jacket, but not a bag or scabbard for the sword.
The amulet from ' Something Blue' is making an appearance too. They’ve been watching the old episodes recently, I can tell.
It's called a pony tail D'Hoffryn
D’Hoffryn is still after Willow. Could be interesting.
Has nobody told the police about the decomposing dead bodies yet?
Buffy is looking scary now. Really reminds me of the Wish-verse version of Buffy, all hard and brittle.
That's new makeup on Anya.
Anya and Buffy are really spoiling for a fight here.
Ouch. That’s going to hurt
Is she really dead? Then kudos. No, if she was really dead there would have a been a long teary goodbye scene
Um, what the hell is going on?
I’ve got a note about singing coconuts here. I’m sure that’s not right.
What a hideous blanket
My first reaction to this was ‘the hell?’ Then, it was ‘bizarre’, then it was ‘this is quite odd, but sweet’. Anya was obviously really looking forward to being married.
Oh thank God that song stopped.
This episode veers from one extreme to the other.
Oh, it's a cop out. I didn’t think she was dead for a moment. I had a whole theory worked out and everything as to why she wasn’t basically revolving around remembering a plot point from last year with Halfrek. Aren’t I sad?
I don’t think D’Hoffryn would have agreed so easily. Willow’s made some kind of a deal, I’m sure to try and save Anya. Of course, I’m probably completely wrong.
‘Lady Hacks-away’ I must remember that one, it’s a very appropriate name for Buffy at the moment.
Halfrek?! That’s harsh! Someone give Anya a hug, she’s devastated.
D’Hoffryn repeats the newest Demon Catchphrase.
Yes, he is gallant. He always was

Him

When did Buffy get a fringe?
Spike and Xander are going to be flatmates again? Does that mean it’ll be back to the season 4 ‘odd couple’ jokes?
There should be a slew of Spike coming in and out of the closet jokes, but I just can't find any right now.
Closet?
Hence the problem with last season, nobody knew wheat the hell was going on.
"Coming with" Oh, I hate that. Coming with me, coming with us, pick a pronoun and use it.
Those silly football trousers make the blond kid look like he's wearing a nappy.
Dawn at the High School Oh Puh-leese. They have to be taking the piss with the junior Diet Coke guy routine.
"Like the rudder on a ship..." yeah, I think they got that part Dawn
‘Dawn, she’s not really good for anything’. Thousands would probably agree with you Anya.
I know a cheerleader that got benched for swearing at the opposite team's supporters.
You'd have thought Dawn would be more limber than after the fight training
I’m having flashbacks to either ‘The Witch’ or ‘Bring it On’. Either way it’s disturbing and Dawn still sucks.
Oh, I think he's noticed you
Bet she still wants pizza though
Buffy used to use that excuse all the time.
Monty Python! Monty Python! They actually quoted it this week, not just the indirect tribute they had last week.
Dawn suddenly realises that being a girl all alone in an alley at night in Sunnydale isn't such a good idea.
That's such a wussy cat fight.
I’m really not liking Buffy’s fringe. For a moment there she looked like Darla in ‘Welcome to the Hellmouth’, which was just a little on the freaky side.
So how many does that make Buffy?
Notice nobody's said 'two' yet
If this flirting goes on much longer, I’m going to be sick.
Principal Wood! Principal Wood! Something's happening in the counselor's office!
Not just morally wrong Buffy, but lose your job wrong.
Poor Xander getting totally lost in the workings of the female mind
That's the line of the season for Xander - "Get off the boy Buffy, we're going home."
Is it possible to blossom downwards?
I bet he doesn't add the "in her day" part when he's taking to his Mum
Buffy spells it out for a momentarily confused Willow.
The ex-vengeance demon for wronged women and the lesbian falling for the junior diet coke guy? It’s got to be spell.
Around?
"You'd kill for a chocolate bar," me too
Willow rushes off, inspired
Why do people have to do magic on the floor? Why not use a table?
I knew she kept the rocket launcher. I can understand Buffy having the rocket launcher, but where does she get the ammunition for it from?
It's amazing what at can pass you by when you're marking
Dawn goes for the silent movie treatment
Points Buffy, change the points
Nice plan boys

Conversations With Dead People

For the record, this was not a good episode to be watching on my own in the house. Very, very freaky. I too was by myself, and the Dawn stuff was freaking me out slightly.
‘From beneath you it devours’ is in the previouslies. As if we didn’t get it the last 10 ten times it was repeated.
I think that’s the first time they’ve ever actually displayed the title of the episode on screen, isn’t it? How odd. And ‘November 12 2002, 8.01pm is very precise. I can't help feeling it's like the start of a count down.
Various shots of Buffy, Willow and Spike moping. Oh, the unbearable angst of it all. The start of this episode is going to piss Diminuendo off, another indie music montage.
Willow wistfully remembering Tara is rather sniffle-inducing.
Dawn on her own at the Summer’s residence. Is that altogether wise?
Dawn uses cunning plant camouflage to hide the hole in the wall. That's shoddy building but good foliage cover
Everyone really is looking extraspecially angsty tonight.
That fight's going on a long time
Hey! It’s Jonathon and the other guy, What are they up to? Oh, an Andrew plan. This is going to be good
They actually learnt Klingon! Why does that not surprise me in the least?
Oh, Lord, the catchprase has reached Mexico. At least I assume that’s what the phrase actually translated to. "It eats you starting with your bottom". Well, close enough
No bashing of the ‘Welcome to Sunnydale’ sign? I’m disappointed.
Dawn is such a spoilt brat and still highly annoying. What’s with the marshmallow in the microwave?
For some reason, the music Dawn listening to sounds like ‘Strictly Ballroom’, which I probably wouldn’t have noticed had I not just caught the film on TV half an hour before I watched Buffy.
The conversation between Cassie and Willow starts off as bizarre and then turned into slightly heartbreaking as you see Willow’s reaction to the thought of Tara being there. And the gratuitous reference to the 'OMWF' song had me misting up.
Ugh Cassie. I hate her
Now Dawn that's over reacting. Don't break the TV just 'cause you can't turn it off. Dawn never break the TV! Dawn doesn't know how lucky she is, if I had a TV that still worked when you'd unplugged it, then I wouldn't have missed taping 'Angel' last week.
That’s a drastic solution Dawn.
Your dead mother is talking to you through the radio, you can go ahead and break that
And now, hearing Joyce’s voice has me freaked. Although not as much as the flashes of her on the sofa - that made me scream.
Apparently Dawn is shrill enough to counter the undead.
I like the psyc vamp, he's cool. Buffy did Psych 101, she shouldn’t need the comic vampire.
The conversation with the pysch-Vamp (to be known as PV) was surreal but entertaining.
Scott Hope was gay. Heh. That’s yet another reference back to High School. Someone's been watching the old episodes again, I can tell.
Andrew - when someone like Jonathon calls you a wuss (and is justified), I think it should tell you something. And Jonathon’s sweet when he’s trying to do the right thing.
Love the Star Wars riff. I’m such a saddo sometimes. I know they’re evil (ish), but I do have a soft spot for those geeks.
What exactly is the plural for nemesis? I know it’s a running joke, but it has me curious. Tobin says it's 'nemeses' and I'm not going to argue with her (well, actually I did argue with her and I lost, so we're stuck with it...). Yes, nemeses is correct. Grammar Girl has spoken.
‘I’m here to kill you, not to judge you’. In an insane way, that actually makes sense.
PV going through the window is such an obvious stunt.
Gee that's encouraging Tara. Oh, all these people are manifestations of the big bad, aren’t they.
It’s also melodramatic to say the least. 'You're going to kill everyone'. Plu-leeese.
Jonathan, you're deranged. I left my school two years before you did and I still hate it
That’s a rather sweet sentiment from Jonathan.
I’m thinking that’s probably not a good symbol to be unearthing.
Let's be frank Buffy, you didn't deserve Riley and, attempted rape firmly aside, you did use Spike and dump him when you got bored
Buffy gets all self-pitying. Yawn
I knew it! I knew it! I always said Buffy had a superiority complex. I actually said that before Mr Vamp-man did. Go me!
How does PV know Spike? This can't be good. Ahh, that's how he knows Spike. Uh-oh.
Dawn looks pretty demonic there - contrasting with Joyce's angelic look,. She's obviously been borrowing Cordy's robes!
Buffy's going to kill Dawn. The house looks like a tip
Willow is devastated at the thought of the future she might cause. Although, I'm not sure that I'd believe a random, dead girl telling me not to use magic.
No, Willow! Believe in what Giles says!
Asking Willow to kill herself. Now you've overdone it - she'll know something's up.
Joyce depresses Dawn with the news that Buffy won't save her this time. I'm not sure that I trust this - the 'fight' might have been a ploy to get Dawn to believe her.
OMG! They killed Jonathan! He was trying to do the right thing as well. This isn't going to go well - blood sacrifices rarely do, or so I'm told. Oh God, did they build Sunnydale High School on every evil thing in the world? Why couldn’t they move it a few feet to the left or something?
'Who are you?' Willow gets down to the important stuff. The way 'Cassie' disappears was freaky
Spike's bad again? Oh dear.
Well, let that be a lesson to you, they can't be trusted

Sleeper

God damn it, the one time I could have done with a long, patronising, heavily explanatory recap of last week...
At 4.30 I wouldn’t have got out of bed, full stop.
Verb, to creature. I creature, you creature, we are about to have been creatured
Spike, we understand that you've been bad, but please don't dig down to Hell. Oh, it's a grave, that's alright. At least he's cleaning up after himself
I love the humming as he works. Humming gravediggers, yet another reason to be cremated.
Oh look, black cabs and red phone boxes, we must be in Britain. Americans really don’t know where anywhere is do they?
Norah? For a girl of our age? I think not.
It's so a Watcher and (potential) Slayer thing there. Although a pretty dead Watcher and Slayer now.
Ooh, robed monk, watch out!
It’s 4.30am, where has Willow been?
Willow's realistic and controlled panic I like that. Dawn on the other hand is completely in denial.
Ruffled!Xander and fairy lights... Heaven.
Thinking about it, who sired you probably is kind of a status thing
The Oscar perhaps, but not the Emmy, never the Emmy
"We were just..." Sitting here talking about you and hoping you weren't going to hear. Yeah, you're really subtle the pair of you.
"That must have been a picnic" no Spike, that was when you found him
Spike can’t leave in the day anyway - there‘s the little issue of burning up.
Ooh Xander, I wouldn’t go there.
Surely Spike could hear this conversation anyway, what with his vampire hearing and all.
Flamethrower! They should use more flamethrowers!
Damn, out-fringedwelled by Xander. Twice
That was a weird cut, Buffy's posture just changed completely and we never saw her move
Patient Willow has to clue Buffy in here.
If the Big Bad can fake visitations from the grave, then I'm sure a bit of dust shouldn't be a problem
That sheet is a bit low for comfort.
Spike looks nude under the blanket. Not that I was looking, it's just an observation.
Surely all those clothes in the drawers are Xander's? Spike doesn't bother with many changes of clothes
She's going through your clothes for clues Spike, I know you've only just woken up, but it's pretty obvious
This seduction attempt is just odd. Spike's really not looking convinced there. Still, that's a superbly distracting cover story from Anya
It's not something Xander will forget in a hurry either
"The do's quite fetching". I actually agree - Anya's hair looks half-decent there.
They’re called trousers Spike. Think you’re a native eh?
What is Anya reading? They seem determined to show it to us as much as possible without actually revealing the title
I'm sure the music's significant but I don't know how. Aha EVIL humming.
Not terribly clever to have Buffy stalk Spike. He will know her scent from a long way off and she has all the stealth tracking skills of Godzilla with a head cold
That girl Spike just picked up must be freezing, she hasn’t got a coat on! Oh God, there I go, channeling my grandmother.
"You're a little bit bad". No, that's the original Big Bad you're talking to there.
Is that the bad, figment of imagination Buffy or the real one? This episodes got me all confused.
No, SMG's just not convincing as the Big Bad
What just happened?
Geearrgh that morph was creepy
Okay, how many people out there would know that they were the lyrics to the song he was humming?
JM has filled out a bit since last season, it's still not exactly pleasant, but I feel less of an urge to tie him down and make him eat pie. Ooh, pie! I have pecan pie in the freezer! Excuse me for a moment...
He's wearing leather trousers Buffy, he's evil. How many more clues do you need?
Buffy and Spike in the Basement He's right. She does sound jealous
"It's still all about you" Don't encourage Buffy's holier-than-thou attitude. Please.
Why is Willow dressed like a teacher from an Enid Blyton book?
I doubt very much that one Spike would alter the death rate in Sunnydale that much
This 'Evil' they're going to face. Its not like a Mirror self and the bad guys are all actually them is it? Because I'm sure I've seen that done before.
Author's message, smoking is evil
Depressing songs all the way this year then is it? Right-o. Please tell me Spike kills the whiny, big-eyed indie singer
"You look like you're out for blood" Well, that's original.
The vamp's a day old, Spike should be able to take her down in seconds
Oh, they've been waiting to use that "one bite stand" pun for years
Well, he didn't kill wide-eyed indie girl, but he stopped her for singing for a few blessed seconds. Never underestimate the willingness of a musician to finish their set.
Why do I get the feeling Spike's bitter about Billy Idol? Billy Idol is popular in 21st Century America? That explains an awful lot. It’s almost as disturbing as Josh and the UB40. First of all, nothing is as worrying as Josh and the UB40, and secondly, Billy Idol rocks
"Man, I hate playing Vampire Towns" Yeah, they must really suck. Oh C'mon, like anyone else can resist the opportunity to crack a cheap pun or two.
Spike is taking seeing himself very calmly
The really evil Spike's actually rather yummy.
Here in the pristine and completely level floor
Folk songs are so unsettling.
Spike's distressed, but not enough to mess up his hair
Buffy really should kill Spike, now she knows
"There's something in here with us" Buffy sparks up a neuron
"It's bad", yes Buffy, because there was a possibility it was going to come from beneath and devour in a good way
Whoooo! Giles appears. Hooray! Unnecessarily dramatic entrance from Giles!
Nobody is called Robson. "Robson", they called the Watcher "Robson"? Great, I now have 'Unchained Melody' running through my brain. That is evil.
"It's started" I assume that's the apocalypse?
NO! GILES! Don't you dare...
Agh! Duck, Giles, duck! There was a brief Panto moment there though as I fought the urge to yell 'It's behind you!'
Wasn't that the demon who Giles set up with his wife?

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