Well, finally. We're back.

Although, in my humble, we could have gotten off to a far better start.

It's not that I don't *like* Harmony. I do. She's… Harmony. Good for the occasional comic relief and a bit of that… wow, I get her… sentimentalism.

But hardly what I wanted to see after waiting almost two months for a new episode.

:::sigh:::

:::Bot: Give the old tumble a break, Love. She's doing her best.
::::Nim gives Bot evil eye.::::
:::Nim: I've been *way* too complacent for this whole ep. When is the me worship coming back? :::pouts mercilessly:::
:::Bot: cuddling closer: Oh, Pet. You know there's no one else but you now.
:::Nim: That's much better:::::
 

Anyway, on with the rundown.

Show starts out with this strange advertisement for Wolfram and Hart which reminds me of those sixties sex ed tapes with the anonymous, yet completely creepy voices, telling us about Wolfram and Hart's main focus now that *Angel* is in charge. :::yawn:::: I think the only purpose, was the Zero Tolerance for murder, especially for Vampires.

Okay, I'm with that motto. Well, most of the time.

And did I mention Angel has the personality of a doorknob in the ad?

::::Bot: Not just the ad, Pet.::::
::::Nim sagely nods her agreement::::

Anyway, on to the next not wanting to see. Underdressed Harm getting ready for work. Way to go, WB, for working the coveted 18-34 male demographic. Harmony is cute. Still didn't want to see it.

:::Bot: You should wear pink more often, Love.
:::Nim: Compare me to her again and I'll beat you with your own arm. :::thinks to self::: My entire wardrobe is pink!
:::Bot:::lifting shirt and grinning like idiot::: Yes, it is, Love
:::Nim: Hands off while I'm writing::::

So, Harmony gets dressed (and let's have an Amen for that) and then shows up at work. Warming boss's blood. Giving Angel the morning report which he doesn't even listen too. Okay, as a woman in the workforce, I'm getting Harmony's annoyance now. And getting that that is the *entire* point of this episode. To create sympathy, empathy, some sort of connection, with Harmony. It had it's moments for that purpose. But, alas, I still don't think I needed an entire episode.

Harmony has a chat with Eli from accounting who thinks he's going into Angel's office to get a promotion. Or a raise. When, in fact, Eli doesn't just account. He likes to dismember virgins for fun. Tsk Tsk, Eli. Zero tolerance.

Bam, Eli's getting Highlandered by Angel.

And now I'm just wondering, "Where the heck is Spike?????"
 

::: Bot: Really, Pet? Miss me?
:::cuddles closer:::: Sometimes.
:::Sly grin::: Going to have to make that all the time::::

Thank goodness for commercials.

Back to the story. Angel explaining his Zero Tolerance Policy (Rudi Gulliani must be so proud) and harping on what happened and….

Finally! Spike!

And what? He's saying something I want to hear? Well, he's saying goodbye which is bad, bad, bad. But he's also saying he's going to Europe to find Buffy? My Spuffy heart skips a beat. And Angel's not stopping him? Go Spike. Run. Find your girl.

But then I'd be down to just Wesley to drool over.

:::Bot: Had bout enough of that, Pet?
:::Nim: Oh, don't you *dare* after the bit about Harmony in the… oh, don't even.
:::Bot::::blushing:::: Right then. Carry on.::::

The Spike and Fred goodbye was rather nice too. Like they actually respected each other as friends. And when was the last time Spike was actually respected? I got all warm and fuzzy.

Wait. He's saying goodbye??? NO!

And oops. Spike starts to go without saying goodbye to Harm. No, I heard *nothing* about them having sex. Nope. Nada. Nothing. La. La. La. La. La.

Then he's gone. And the ep pretty much loses interest.

For the sake of those of you reading, however, I probably should continue.

Back to Angel, Gunn and the gang going over the subplot of a warring demon tribal council meeting that really had nothing to do with anything. But hey, that's okay. Subplots need love too.

Random thought: Fred. With the blue top. Blue eye shadow. Looking wistfully and kindly at Spike. Blue Fairy much?

:::Bot: That Blue Fairy Bint again? You've been reading too much Pinocchio….
:::Nim: It was a book?:::::

So, I actually did feel for Harmony as she sat in on the meeting and was dutifully ignored because no one but the top seeds in business matter much on the opinion level. But don't mind my corporate ambivalence.

And oooh! In the lunchroom, everyone thought that Wesley was… oooh! Slash, much?

All of the sudden, the story took on a strange turn with a camel in the lobby. But the camel was cute so all is well.

Angel lays into Harmony for the camel. Fred tries to help her out and be nice because that's what Fred does, and Harmony ends up asking her out after work. And no, not in the Wesley Slashy sort of way.

I will give the episode this; the Fred and Harmony bonding in the bar was kind of sweet. Having Fred be the man expert, and the one with two hot men in love with her (and who wouldn't be happy about the Wesley/Knox conundrum) ….

:::Bot::::growling:::: No more about the bloody rigid Marlboro Mystic, all right?
:::Nim::: waggling eyebrows::: Rigid?
:::Bot::::: flashing fang::: I should bite you for that….
::::Nim:: Promises….:::::

So, Fred finally gets Harmony to hit on a cute guy at the bar. Pathetically, I might add….

::::Bot: Thought it was kinda cute, Pet.
::::Nim:::: growling:::: Cute?
::::Bot: But no where near as cute as when you….::::

Back to the story…..

Harmony suddenly wakes up with the cute bar guy. And doesn't remember his name. Oops. Bigger oops, he's dead. Even bigger… by Vampire bite.

So, Harmony, how does one deal with a naked dead man in one's bed?

Glad you asked, Nim. Put him in *your* stripey laundry bag and dump him down the trash shoot. Which leads to a closed dumpster. Which you then have to retrieve said laundry wrapped body and re-dump manually. Because, that's what you do.

Thanks, Harm.

And could Angel be a bigger jerk in this ep?

:::Bot: Told you he was a poncy bugger, Love.
:::Nim:::sighs::: You were right, baby. Like always.
:::Bot: ::: sexy eyebrow lifting::: Always?
:::Nim:::: unable to resist charms:::: Most of the time::::::

Harmony makes it into work only to field a call from the police about a Vamp attack. As a good assistant, she forwards the call to Angel, but, also as a good assistant, she eavesdrops. And this is her guy.

Oops.

And Angel catches her eavesdropping.

Oops.

Watch out, Harm. He might brood you to death.

Then we come to find out that the deceased is none other than the negotiator necessary for the warring clan summit at Wolfram and Hart (remember that dusty old subplot?).

Oops.

Toby, was his name. Since Harmony couldn't remember. Oh, and one of the warring clans people calls Angel a "Filthy manwhore" Now that got me giggling. A lot. Was probably the best non-Spike part of the episode.

Anyway, Harmony overhears that the Vamp attack victim was brought to the lab and she runs up there to confirm it's really him. And it is. And Harmony has no idea, still , how it happened.

She chats with Fred, who obviously enjoyed the girl company the previous night and Harmony sort of blew that off (look, Harm, girl to girl? If you want to go anywhere in business, don't ignore the nice person higher up offering you the olive branch) Well, I guess she did have the sudden murder of Toby on her mind. Since she didn't remember.

Once Harmony confirms the victim, she races out, internally monologue blaring.

:::Bot: You talk to yourself, Love. Think it's rather sweet.
:::Nim: Because it's usually in my sleep and usually about you.
:::Bot:::: smiling:::: Damn right it is.:::::

Suddenly, though, Harmony makes a realization. Fred said that the victim was bitten on the left side of his neck. And Harmony, herself is a right biter. Which sort of makes a macabre sense. I mean, we all prefer to write or eat or… well, we all favour one side over the other. So, I guess Harmony might have a point.

But while she's figuring this one out, she runs into the blood testing man, who sticks her finger while she gloats over her sudden realization.

Oops.

Harm is positive for human blood.

Well, what does one do in that situation ,Harmony? No more laundry bags.

Just knock him out and put him in the maintenance closet.

Oh, and Lorne too. Because he's figuring something out. Maintenance closet. Good.

:::Bot: What? It's a plan?
:::Nim::: shaking head::: You never were good at plans….::::

Harmony heads back to the lab and suddenly confides in Fred, telling her what happened. Fred insists that they call Angel and tell him. He'll understand (not!). So, in her infinite wisdom, Harm does what?

Knock Fred out and put her in the same maintenance closet.

At least she apologizes to them all.

With a leap of un-Harmony-like logic, she figures out that someone put human blood in her thermos of pig blood to make her test positive although she's sure that she didn't bite Toby because she's a right biter, so she runs down to the employee lounge to check it out. (That was a run on sentence. This was a run on part of the ep).

When down there, she confronts Lorne's assistant, with whom she has a sort of underling rivalry, and accuses him of spiking her blood.

:::Bot: She'd have known if that were Spiked blood.
:::Nim:::: cringing at bad pun:::: Uh, if it had been, I'd send you to the factory to be disassembled, and made into a Wesley Bot.
:::Bot::: pouting::: Low, Pet.
:::Nim::: feeling lousy and cuddling in next to her mate::::: Okay, but enough with the Harmony. You make me all jealous.
:::Bot:::: brightening::: I do
:::Nim::: shaking head:::: Of course.
:::Bot: Right then. Your pink's far better anyway:::::

Another little secretarial pool girl comes up and smacks Lorne's assistant over the head with a bottle, startling Harmony. Harm asks why she did that and then sorts out that this is the person who *really* framed her. And why? Corporate jealousy. The other woman thought that Harmony was in with the big guns and that she had everything and was so envious it was worth all this to get Harmony's job.

Okay, so now I feel for Harmony. Really.

Oh, and by the way, Chanel really isn't tacky.

So, Harmony and this littler woman have a huge girl-fight, which I won't let the Bot comment on, but it's the most excited he's been since Buffy and Dark Willow had it out in the Magic Box. And I have to give head nods to the dueling chopsticks with the Crouching Tiger undertones. I needed a good giggle after 40 minutes of straight Harmony.

The two women fight until suddenly, they break through a wall, where Harmony accidentally stakes the other woman (oh, she was a Vamp too) with a chopstick right on the middle of the conference table where Angel (the manwhore - ha!) and Gunn were negotiating with the warring clansmen.

Luckily, the clansmen thought that Harmony's sacrifice of the other woman satisfied their bloodlust over losing Toby the negotiator (love when the tie the subplot into the plot, yeah?) and decide to sit down and talk. Because everything in life is that neat and tidy.

Harmony then ends up in Angel's office with the three folks from the maintenance closet, Gunn, Angel and Wes. Even though I didn't feel that she was any brighter at the end of the episode, I did feel for *her* as a character. I did feel her loneliness and the fact that she felt as if no one cared. And still, Fred stood up for her a bit. Good Fred.

At least Angel stopped being an utter ass for a moment and didn't fire her.

Last scene, Spike was back. Thank goodness. I was getting all… bored. Harmony is sitting in the bar drinking alone and Spike comes out of the shadows (because he's good at that). Harmony asks him while he's still around. His answer boils down to the fact that he's afraid that if he sees Buffy again, everything he did… saving the world, dying, all he did for her… would cease to matter.

Harmony explains to Spike, in perhaps her only truly meaningful moment, that girls don't think like that. That they don't take things for granted. At least not things like that.

Spike gets the point that Harmony is sort of referring to how he treated her. And yes, Spike, as much as I think you're dandy, you did treat Harmony like dirt. And dumb or not, no one deserves that.

I think Spike got it. And that felt good.

And he tried to make it up to her by being there when she needed him, and giving her the confidence she needed to go on. Even if it was by pointing out that just because people want to kill you, doesn't mean you're unimportant.

On the other hand, it does.

Yes, Harm, maybe it does.

::: Bot: Point hits home a bit? That Spike's a wise bloke.
:::Nim::: smiling up at Bot::: let's hit the hay. This West Coast time is kicking my bum.
:::Bot: Can't have that, now can we , Love. ::: tosses Nim over shoulder:::: Putting you to bed, Pet.
:::Nim::: just smiles::::
 

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