Reviewed by Sanguine

Joss Whedon once said that he would never do a "very special Buffy." You know, a "television event" where we learn a valuable lesson about the dangers of pre-marital sex, or drugs, or evil college professors. The moral lesson is treated with all the subtlety of an anvil to the head and at the end of this "very special episode" it is customary to see a phone number, providing contact information for whatever hotline is applicable.

Part of Wrecked, by Marti Noxon, was that "very special episode" I never wanted to see. While there were some things I enjoyed, I found myself occasionally feeling nauseated. Yes, my friends, Willow has descended into heroin addiction--I mean the abuse of magic. Um, didn't they try this before with Riley and his vamp-hos? Been there. Done that. Frankly, I was hoping for a more effective examination of Willow's descent into moral turpitude.

What would have been more interesting, you may ask? Alyson Hannigan is a fabulous actress and her performance in Wrecked was particularly strong. Rather than magic being a metaphor for drug use, complete with the symptoms of withdrawal, the cravings, the night sweats, it might have been more interesting for Willow simply to be addicted to power. No side effects. No Willem Dafoe-looking pusher. No strung out friend stealing sage--yes SAGE--from Willow's room (Please!! Sage costs $2.50 at any grocery store. Couldn't Amy afford some of her own?) Willow's analysis of the reasons behind her magic addiction at the end of the episode hinted at the tantalizing direction the writers might have taken. She says to Buffy, "If you could be a plain old Willow or a super Willow, who would you be?" Willow, the high school geek, never felt important. Sure, she had brainpower, but she was usually victimized by whatever Big Bad came her way. With magic, she could do anything. Be anything. Ultimate power.

In short, it would have been interesting if Willow's abuse of power didn't have overt physical consequences, if her humanity had simply slipped away a little bit at a time. I would have been perfectly happy with the storyline if the writers hadn't insulted my intelligence by introducing the spell-pusher, Rack, hammering me over the head with the meaning behind the magic metaphor. Now magic use has been directly linked with drug use (no ambiguity allowed, folks!) and drugs are far easier to demonize (pun intended) than power, something that our culture prizes so much.

While I'm on the subject of things I didn't like, let's talk about that closing shot of the episode: Buffy, huddled on her bed, clutching a cross, surrounded by garlic cloves. Lame. Doesn't Spike eat Spicy Buffalo Wings on a regular basis (garlic powder in the sauce, baby!) And what about the Onion Blossom? That dipping sauce is filled with garlic. Don't think that's gonna stop him, Buff.

But enough snark. I've finished my rant. Let's move on to some of the things I did find interesting. First, you must know I'm going to talk about Buffy and Spike: The Morning After.

For the first time Buffy wakes up and her sex partner hasn't taken off (to lose his soul, to get coffee, to take his "vitamin supplements"). He's still there. Can't lose his soul (done that already). Can't go and get coffee (it's sunny out and he'd kind of burn). Doesn't need "vitamins" to give him super strength. Hello? Vampire! The only thing Spike wants is another go with Buffy. Buffy feels extremely guilty about the Spike shagging (and she should examine her motives--more on that later). She calls their sexcapades a "freak show" and prepares to leave. Spike is hurt by this (he never did like being called a freak, cf. Forever) and pouts, "Don't say that" as he pulls her into his lap. For a moment it looks as if he will persuade her to stay, but then he really screws up. Big time. I honestly don't know what the hell he was thinking (or maybe the demon was thinking for him at this point) but in the midst of Buffy snogging he murmurs, "I knew the only thing better than killing a Slayer would be f---" And we just know what he was going to say next. Moron. Of course, Buffy gets really hurt and the subject of Angel is brought up (another spectacularly bad idea). Spike, by now completely immersed in his Big Bad persona, tells Buffy that he's through being her "whipping boy." "I may be dirt, but you're the one who likes to roll in it, Slayer." So, Spike thinks he's dirt. Self-esteem issues, anyone? And Buffy? Don't even get me started.

Welcome to dysfunction junction.

After their hard night of debauchery, both Willow and Buffy slink home to the woefully undersupervised (and strangely annoying) Dawn. Fortunately, Tara has stayed over to protect Dawnie, who behaves like she's 15 going on 8. I must say, I'm very disappointed in the material for Dawn this season. Michelle Trachtenberg did a wonderful job last season (particularly in the episode Blood Ties) and it's a shame to see her talent wasted. Sure, Dawn's no longer The Key, but besides her burgeoning kleptomania, nothing much is happening with her.

Speaking of characters that are underused, Xander and Anya fulfill their contractual requirement in their weekly Magic Box scene. They're still researching the diamond-eating frost monster, but to no avail. Well, Anya's only pretending to do research. She's really planning her wedding, trying to decide between cocktail dresses or burlap and blood larva. Besides being wigged out by his fiancŽe's ex-demon-ness, Xander is also frustrated by their lack of progress. He (I almost fainted here) actually suggests that they go to Spike for help. Buffy quickly rejects this idea, but actually, Xander is right. Now Giles is gone and Willow's strung out, Spike is the most likely candidate to do supernatural research. He's smart, he's secretly bookish (I'm sure he didn't forget everything William knew when he was turned), and he's proven again and again that he knows quite a bit about magic and demons. Plus, in both Restless and Tabula Rasa he was "a son" to Giles, the heir to the Brit's dusty archives. But because of Buffy's inability to deal with Spike (and perhaps because she doesn't trust him to keep his mouth shut about their nocturnal activities), she passes up this opportunity.

Xander then expresses his concern about Willow. As in Smashed, Buffy applies everything Xander says to her own situation. In Buffy's mind, her attraction to Spike becomes a dangerous addiction, just like Willow's addiction to magic. And, in some respects, Buffy is right. As I wrote several weeks ago, Buffy is using Spike, just like Willow is using magic. Buffy needs Spike to forget her problems, to escape. As such, her relationship with him is deeply problematic. Exacerbating the unhealthy situation, she rewarded him with Slayer!Sex at precisely the moment when he shouldn't have been rewarded. In The Gift, After Life, and Flooded he had been solicitous towards Buffy, concerned for her welfare. During the first few episodes of this season, Spike was Buffy's only confidante, the only one who could understand what she went through. Then Spike sang his "wittle song," "Rest in Peace," and everything changed. He couldn't pretend he was happy being her platonic pal anymore. His cards were once again on the table. We also learned that he was all too aware of his undead status, and that perhaps he wished he were something more (as he said more concisely in The Gift, "I know I'm a monster, but you treat me like a man.") Spike values being treated like a man by Buffy. But then in Smashed she lashes out at him, telling him he's an evil thing. Fine. Spike acts like an evil thing. A Big Bad. And what happens? He's rewarded for his behaviour. It apparently turns Buffy on. Spike has rarely gotten positive feedback for being caring and sensitive, not when he was William, not when he was with Dru (he gave Dru everything, and she cheated on him), and not with Buffy (with a few exceptions--the kiss at the end of Intervention, her asking him to take care of Dawn in The Gift, her trusting him with her secret in After Life). So, what is he to think now? Swagger=Sex? In any case, Buffy should question her actions with regards to Spike. Why is she most attracted to him when he's being verbally and physically abusive (and she, of course, returns the "favour" in kind)? Does she secretly hope she might push him to the point where he snaps and gives her that ultimate "sweet release"?

While Buffy's preoccupied with her Spike problem, Willow's taking Dawn for a swing by the crack house--I mean the fine establishment where she gets magically recharged or whatever benefit she gets from floating around, looking stoned. Buffy realises that it's Tuesday night, so Dawn must be in danger. Of course, she immediately goes to Dawn's de facto Dad, Spike. Spike, after a bout of naked leering (two scenes with a naked James Marsters--the man ain't shy), seems genuinely concerned about Dawn. He, being Giles's son, has the answer to Buffy's magic-based problem. He promises to help her find the magic crack house. After putting on his new gold chain and a low cut tank, both apparently purchased from the Pimp Daddy Superstore, Spike is ready to go.

They try to find the crack house, which should be apparent to Big Bads, but strangely they have a distinct lack of success. Somehow (shock!) they begin talking about their relationship. Spike compares himself to an addiction, saying "You're gonna crave me like I crave blood." That's precisely what Buffy fears, and once again, he's articulated her deepest terrors. Spike has an unhappy knack of doing that. Things improve a bit when he scoffs at Buffy's desire to get him out of her life. He knows she needs him, and not just for the spectacular sex. "You really gonna put your little sis in danger, just to spite me?"

After being clued in by piercing screams, Spike and Buffy reach the scene of Willow's crime: she's crashed a stolen car into a wall (because she decided to use magic instead of her hands to steer the car), injured Dawn, and released a demon from hell. Spike immediately goes to care for Dawn, while Buffy dispatches the demon. After his biting escapade and the violence of last week, it was nice to see that Spike still cares about Little Bit. If he's going to continue his climb towards the moral gray, it will be because of his relationship with Dawn (and perhaps the Scoobies), not with Buffy. At this point, even with everything he's done, I actually have more hope for Spike than I do for Willow. Spike may be addicted to being the Big Bad, but at least he has things in his life that temper his addiction (Dawn). Willow has nothing to stop her free fall.

So, at the end of the episode, we're left with two deeply confused women. The things they crave (magic, sexual pleasure) aren't inherently bad. But the reasons both women have for pursuing their pleasures are problematic (loneliness, depression, self-esteem issues, desire for escape). One of the final bits of dialogue is extremely telling:

Buffy: Good, I think it's right to give it up. No matter how good it feels.

Willow: It's not worth it. Not if it messes with the people I love.

Although Buffy has latched onto the Spike!Sex=Dangerous!Addiction conceit, I think Buffy is wrong. The real problem isn't Spike!Sex or the pleasure she receives from being in his sometimes sordid company. The real problem is her irresponsibility; she didn't even bother to check on Dawn during her nightlong sexcapades (and even if she thought Willow was staying with Dawn, she still could have called). Furthermore, her troubled relationship with Spike is getting in the way of him helping the Scoobies and it delayed them finding her sister. So, Buffy needs to make a decision. Spike's right. For purely practical reasons, she needs him in her life. Either she will accept that, and hopefully both of them will behave maturely, or the lives of her friends and family could really be put in peril.