Sleeper

<Kris bounces over to the computer, grabs the keyboard, and settles into her Musing Position in the Comfy Chair....>

Oh, my.

This, ladies and gentlemen, is why I got hooked on this show. Terrific acting, plot lines that suddenly swerve off what you thought was a certain path... and in the end, while the characters have advanced in the story arc, you're not quite sure if they're better off than they were before the show started...

And glimpses of Nekkid!Spike certainly didn't disappoint a lot of people either, I'm betting...

Quick pieces first, shall we?

I *couldn't* have heard that right moment:

Was that *Xander* expressing concern over Spike and Spike's well-being? Or did I slip into an alternate dimension where Xander will willingly ask if Spike is in trouble? Talk about the unexpected...

Disturbing moment:

Okay, so there were a lot of them in this episode. But the return of the mysterious black-robey-Knights-of-Slayer-Slaying made an unexpected return... and now they're going after Watchers. Not of the good. But we *did* get Giles, which leads us to...

Yippee! moment:

Giles! "Our watcher's back and..." Hey! Giles is in trouble! How could they leave us hanging like this? Oh, right - it's sweeps. Never mind...

Teasing the female viewers moment:

How *dare* they show Spike beginning to undress, only to have him close his door? I'm betting that there were some unhappy fans, especially with the comparable drought of Nekkid!Spike footage this year (compared to last year, when I was wondering if the poor guy was ever going to be allowed to wear clothes for more than 5 minutes per episode...)

Doublemint Gum moment:

Two, count 'em, TWO Spikes! At the same time! Granted, one of them was Morphy!Spike, but still... "Double your pleasure, double your fun...."

Harmony flashback moment:

Anya, announcing that she had a stake because it was "kinky," and echoing so many of the lines and games we used to see Spike and Harmony play... I was just waiting for her to whip out a fuzzy sweater and blond wig!

I just loved, loved, *loved* this episode. There weren't that many philosophical points visited, but the story line was so strong that it really wasn't necessary, was it? The use of "Pavlov's Bell" as a song was a nice touch - and oh, boy - this ep just rocked on so many levels!

First off: we got continuity! Color me impressed... shaken *and* stirred Dawn was entirely believable, but I wasn't so happy to see that she didn't come clean with Willow on what Joyce said to her... this could be a big deal later down the line. We've already seen Morphy!Buffy - who's to say that Dawn won't be treated to the same sight later down the road? Or that Buffy won't be affected by Morphy the way Spike has been? Oh, the mind just boggles...

The return of quippy, snarky Xander was great... I was giggling over the comments to Anya (especially his retort to her threat to "Bite his a**"). I'm still not really happy over how he's kinda worried about Spike one minute, ready to stake him the next... but I'll wait to see how this all pans out. I'm really worried that he's being set up for a fall - he's the only character that *hasn't* had anything horrible happen to him yet this season. I fear that the Xan-Man may be highly overdue...

The bit with Anya was just terrific. I love how when she's forced to improvise, she immediately goes to sex... and then gets all in a huff when Spike won't play along. It was a much needed fluffy bit for the episode, and it played out perfectly. It was also great to have the characters (and writers) acknowledge what happened between Spike and Anya last year - another continuity nod.

Willow didn't do a whole lot this ep, did she? I did like that she gave Xander a slightly dirty look when he was ranting about having a serial killer in the house - or maybe that was just my imagination. And at least she managed to convince Dawn to go to bed.... serious points for Willow there.

And then... there's Buffy. And Spike. And Buffy and Spike (and Spike). Let's get to Buffy first.

Was it me, or were all of Buffy's friends pointing out to her (in sometimes not-so-subtle language) that she's got feelings for Spike, dang it? How many times did we hear various members of the Scoobs tell her that she didn't sound like she knew if she wanted him to be the killer that it sounded like he was? Veddy, veddy interesting... I felt badly for Buffy - she actually apologized to the nice lady vamp when she dusted her ("I'm sorry! It's my job!")... and you really could tell that she *didn't* want to believe that Spike could be The Big Bad once again. Was she jealous? Who knows? We know from last week's ending, as well as this week's events, that she definitely felt betrayed... and I do think that jealousy certainly could go right along with that feeling.

The fact that Buffy had her "resolve face" on when she stalked over to Spike in the basement, right before she took pity on him and sat down, was interesting as well... did anyone else see the similarities between their positions at this point and the positions they were in when "Black Buffy" came into the basement during "Selfless?" Or was it the sheer giddiness I was feeling over seeing Spike actually get so much *spoken* air time this week that clouded my vision?

And then... there's Spike. And Spike. And Double Spike! Buffy turning into Spike! Oh, my goodness.. what is the world coming to? I'm sure that someone out there is going to be pointing to Morphy turning from Buffy into Spike and saying that this signifies a connection between them, but I'm not going to go that far. I will, however, say that the sight of Morphy!Buffy was rather disconcerting. SMG plays evil Buffy pretty darned well (oooo - that lip curl! <shiver>).

There was so much of Spike in this episode that it's hard to know where to begin... There were so many nice touches, so many wonderful pieces of character growth - *and* he got to Tell-Buffy-OFF! Yippee! James Marsters, as usual, brought so many subtleties to his portrayal of the multiple moods (and multiple Spikes) that I honestly didn't take very many notes - I was so engrossed that I just sat and watched. I thought it was fairly interesting that we saw Spike wander around and into so many of the places in the Bronze where we've seen echoes of "The Big Bad" - the pool table ("Fool For Love", anyone?), the alleyway, and the loft in the shadows upstairs - all in an episode where we kept hearing the women Spike picked as victims ask him if he was a Bad Boy. That was a nice touch.

I really was blown away by this ep. I'm beyond ecstatic that we have, without a doubt, proof that Spike is the victim of Morphy/The First Evil/The Biggest Bad... and we actually got Buffy telling him that she would *help* him at the end of the episode! We had emotional confrontations, we got Spilliam, we got Evil!Spike, we got Snarky Xander, WE GOT GILES! <ahem>... and we got one heck of a show.

Something tells me that we really only are just getting started... and who, in their wildest dreams, would have *ever* thought three years ago that we'd be seeing Spike asking Buffy for help - *real* help - and that she'd freely grant it? Oh, my....

One quick final thought: I did love the references by Anya to "Soulless!Spike" and Spike to "Soulful!Spike" - it sounded like conversations here on the boards! Made me giggle a bit, I tell you.

Quotes of the Night

"Soulless Spike would have had me upside down and halfway to happyland by now." - Anya, pouting after Spike turned her "offer" down...

"Because, God help me, it's still all about *you*, Buffy!" - Spike, in a moment that had fanfic writers scrambling for pens across the viewing nation...

Dear Hubby Quote of the Night:

"This is twisted."

Ewwwwwwwww score:

4 out of 10. We knew to expect the bodies, but the shots of Spike with blood dripping down his chin? Eeesh.

Furry Spike score:

4 paws and an Enthusiastic Wag. Lots of Spikeage, he actually gets a major piece of the storyline... and his character is slowly beginning to move into the circle of Scoobies. And he made Buffy feel guilty to boot! WHOO!

(And did we mention the return of Giles?)

Lifting a Diet Coke in a toast to you all...

---

Kris