Reviewed by Sanguine

In Greek mythology. Cassandra, the daughter of the King and Queen of Troy, was granted prophetic powers by the god Apollo, who was smitten by the beautiful princess. When she rejected the god's advances, Apollo cursed her, making it so no one would believe her prophecies. Thus, her warnings about the Trojan horse and other debacles fell on deaf ears.

Cassie in this week's episode of BTVS was also a strong woman, cursed by the gift of prophecy. She was cursed with knowing the exact time of her death, although the manner of her demise was left a bit sketchy by the Powers That Be. But unlike her Greek counterpart, Cassie did not lack credibility. Counselor Buffy immediately takes her problem seriously and valiantly tries to save young Cassie's life.

Where Same Time, Same Place failed last week, Help succeeded. Rebecca Rand Kirshner wrote a vintage BTVS episode. Pathos and humor naturally flowed together; the mixture between the two never felt forced. The Scoobies were likeable again, heroically banding together to save someone other than them. The problem of Willow was not swept under the carpet. In particular, her scene at Tara's grave was effective, poignant, yet understated. There was an intriguing mystery to ponder. And finally, Cassie, the damsel in distress, was one of the best one-off characters in the history of the show. By the end of the episode, I really cared about her. I wanted her to live, even if fate (and Kirshner) had other plans.

Kirshner's deftly written episode focused on two primary lessons: 1) one should avoid jumping to conclusions; and 2) not everyone can be saved. Buffy, in her new job as counselor, tries to solve her students' problems, which range from the mundane to the serious. When Cassie, a seemingly well-adjusted young woman, is directed to her office, the reason for her referral isn't immediately apparent. Then, in the course of casual conversation, she reveals that attending class seems a bit irrelevant as she's going to die on Friday. Shocked and disturbed, Buffy immediately high tails it to the principal's office and seeks his advice. She's leapt to the conclusion that Cassie is suicidal and must be stopped.

Principal Wood (charismatically portrayed by D.B. Woodside) corrects several of Buffy's misapprehensions. First, he gently disabuses her of the notion that since he's African-American, he must be from the "hood." Actually he is from a hood, but not the hood. He grew up in Beverly Hills. Second, he tells her that not every situation can be remedied. "We just do what we can," he counsels Buffy. But for Buffy, a woman of action, this seemingly complacent attitude rankles her. "It's not enough," she responds vehemently. "I need to fix this." Immediately, Kirshner establishes Buffy's dilemma. As a hero, as the Slayer, she's used to kicking in doors, finding quick solutions to difficult problems through sheer force of will (and just sheer force). The flaw with this approach is clearly evident in the scene with Cassie's father. Willow, back in Sunnydale and back in research mode, finds that Cassie's father has a rather colorful criminal past--mostly misdemeanors involving alcohol. Leaping to conclusions, Buffy assumes that not only is the man a horrible father, he's also a potential murderer. While she doesn't behave like a Slayer, kicking in the poor man's door, after being admitted to his home she gauchely levels some pretty harsh accusations. Cassie's father, who has a serious problem with alcohol but otherwise seems harmless, is enraged by Buffy's insinuations. He loves his daughter and would never harm her. His feelings seem genuine and Buffy leaves, tail between her legs. Outside she meets Cassie, who tells Buffy and Xander that her father isn't the one who kills her. Cassie then articulates all the reasons why she wants to live, undermining Buffy's suicide theory. Interestingly, Cassie's speech echoes Buffy's speech from the final episode of Season 1. Buffy, railing against her own incipient death, curses fate. She wants to go to the Formal. She wants to be a normal girl, laughing, playing, hanging out with friends. But neither Buffy nor Cassie will ever be normal. Some things cannot be changed. Just as Buffy had to die by the Master's hand, so is Cassie fated to die on Friday. If Buffy listened to Cassie's speech carefully, she would have absorbed two lessons: fate is inexorable and it's unwise to jump to conclusions.

But Buffy has never been the best listener and she still believes that Cassie can be saved. In fact, perhaps that's why fate has decreed that Buffy should be a counselor. She needs to learn how to listen, how to truly empathize, in order to reach maturity. But for now, Buffy, still more Slayer than Counselor, promises to change fate and to save Cassie: promises she ultimately will not be able to keep.

At wits end, Buffy approaches Spike for help. As foretold by Cassie, she travels down into the darkness and hopelessness of his world. Kirshner brilliantly conveys these two characters inability to communicate with each other through a series of misunderstandings. First Buffy asks, "Is there something evil in the school?" Spike responds, "Yes. There's evil. Down here. Right here. I'm a bad man. William is a bad man." Spike, completely immersed in his own pain, isn't able to understand Buffy's question. For the newly souled Spike, he is the ultimate evil. Spike then tells Buffy that he "hurt the girl." Naturally, Buffy believes that Spike is talking about Cassie. But again, Spike and Buffy are failing to communicate. They both leap to the wrong conclusions. Spike then reveals that he isn't talking about Cassie. It's still All About Buffy: "I hurt the girl . . . I hurt you, Buffy. And I will pay. I am paying because I hurt the girl."

After a bout of self-abuse, which Buffy compassionately stops, Spike pleads with her to stay. Assessing the situation, Buffy replies, "I think it's worse when I'm here." Whether or not Buffy is correct remains to be seen.

Moving out of the darkness, Buffy emerges from the basement just in time to see Principal Wood find coins in a boy's locker. Buffy remembers Cassie's prophecy about her death and that coins were involved. Putting the pieces of the puzzle together, Buffy extracts information from the rather dorky coin owner. Once again it appears that Buffy will save the day.

Red-hooded figures chant in a ritual circle in the library, hoping to raise a demon to give them untold riches (the library still seems to the be center of evil at Sunnydale High, even though the Hellmouth is under the Principal's office). The ringleader of the group emerges from the stacks with a bound and gagged Cassie in tow. At this moment, Buffy leaps to her rescue. Removing her Velcro-fastened robe she takes a fighting stance. Things are looking good for Cassie until the demon appears. Fortunately, Spike arrives just in time to simultaneously punish himself (he experiences chip pain every time he hits the humans) and turn the tide of the battle. He manages to untie Cassie and removes her gag. Cassie considers him a moment, then speaks. "She'll tell you. Someday she'll tell you." As Spike's life revolves around Buffy, I assume that Cassie's talking about the Slayer. But who knows what Buffy will tell Spike. I personally hope she will tell him that she forgives him. But we'll have to wait and see. Mutant Enemy loves their ambiguity, especially where the Spuffy relationship is concerned.

So, after Cassie drops her prophetic bombshell on Spike, he disappears and the fight concludes. Buffy successfully thwarts the booby trap at the library door and everything seems fine. The good guys won. Buffy saved Cassie. End of story.

Or is it?

Buffy, feeling confident in victory, directly challenges the Cassie's pessimism. "See, you can make a difference." Cassie responds, "And you will."

But Buffy cannot make a difference for Cassie. The girl's heart gives way and she falls to the ground. Dead.

Later, Buffy discusses her feelings with her friends. She believes she failed Cassie. It's Dawn--a strangely wise Dawn--who corrects her sister. "No. You didn't, cause you tried. I guess sometimes you can't help."

But for Buffy, end-result oriented Buffy, the Buffy who's used to winning, this answer does little to ameliorate her pain and frustration. "So, what then? When do you do when you know that? You know that maybe you can't help?"

The answer comes in the final shot of the episode. Buffy enters her office and sits at her desk, staring into space.

What then? You go to work. You try. But not everyone can be saved.