Showtime

*Kris sits on the comfy part of the couch with her trusty laptop, sipping on her Diet Coke, and hoping that a good dose of New!BtVS will cure her bronchitis that just won't go away...*

I'm still shaking my head over this episode, gang... and while I did take some notes, there was more action than analytical-type story lines this week... (at least to my stressed out brain)...

Christmas, Hanukhah, Kwanzaa, and New Year's have all come and gone (as has the Winter Solstice - did I leave out any major goings on from the past month?), and what better way to get us out of the post-holiday doldrums than to have a new episode of Buffy? I really did like this ep - David Fury did a bang up job of writing, and may have even convinced some new Spike fans to at least be willing to overlook some of the anti-Spike comments he's made in the past...

So: Let's get to the quick commentary!

Still Happy Moment:

Giles is still back... hooray! But what's with the no touchy-touchy? The fact that the coven knew he was there is a bit reassuring, but still... Let's move on to the...

Hints of G/Anya Moment(?):

There was so much interaction between these two characters this ep that I just *knew* the G/Anya shippers would be happy. Anya translating British into American was just a hoot - and when they made their first appearance with Anya carrying bedding, I almost completely took things the wrong way... (or did I? Hmmmm....)

You GO Girl! Moment:

Willow faced up to her fear, alright. Yay, Willow! It was nice to see her back in the saddle again, and acting as the voice of reason.

Subtle Isn't Her Strong Suit Moment:

Someone needs to pull Kennedy aside and teach the girl how to *not* be so, ah, assertive... sheesh!

And, finally:

Free at Last! Moment:

Spike! He's free!!!! And the Spuffiness in the scene was just wonderful.... <happy shippy sigh...>

Heavy Analysis:

I don't know how much Heavy Analysis I have this week, as much as it is that I have commentary to make... so here goes.

First off: the similarities between Spike and Andrew continue. Remember the howling at the beginning of the season when the Scoobies referred to Spike as being a rather rank vamp? Tonight Andrew is being informed that he's smelly... and it just goes from there. He even claims that he's good at planning - something Spike likes to think he's good at doing (even though his plans blow up in his face more often than not). I wonder if this is meant to be a hint of things to come, or if Joss & company are simply trying to tease us...

I loved the fact that the senior Scoobies decided to use the fight with the UberVamp as a learning opportunity for the new Slayerettes. Heck, any time that you mentor someone, it's hard to simply get them to understand what they're facing unless they see (and experience) it for themselves... and the Slayerettes certainly did that tonight. The parallels to Buffy's situation in "Fool For Love" were so subtle (Buffy being negative, although certainly not to the point that we saw with the Slayerettes tonight) until Buffy's ending comment. Here endeth the lesson, indeed.

We didn't get much Spike screen time tonight, did we? But what we got was *sooooo* good... and you just know that we're going to be getting more in the upcoming eps, so I really didn't mind. The interaction at the end was just so poignant - it really looked like Buffy was almost going to break down when she saw how badly Spike was hurt <whimper>. SMG and JM really do have an incredible interaction - especially in scenes where there isn't a lot of dialogue. The fact that they walked off together, with Buffy helping Spike, was a big YAY for me... and now I'm really ticked at the First for trying to plant suspicions with the Slayerettes about Spike. Then again, we got to see Buffy fumbling for why Spike is so important to her (you're in serious Like with him, Buff), so maybe that wasn't all of the bad...

We did get quite a bit out of this ep. Butt ugly CGI demon with appropriately vague comments on why The First is choosing to act now... seeds of "what's going on with Buffy?" planted with Giles and Anya, Anya feeling guilt over Buffy's resurrection (interesting that she should be the one feeling guilt, eh?), Willow no longer being all that happy with being able to float things (remember when she was frustrated over *only* being able to float a pencil?)... it was all good. The dialogue was great, the showdown was good... and I can't wait to see what happens next.

Quotes of the Night:

"Is there a language you're speaking?" Dawn, copping a serious 'tude as only a 16 year old can with Andrew...

"What's the point?" "It's this end right here. Any questions?" - Kennedy, letting her inner Bitca come out to play...

"You wore pink." "It was entrails!" Anya and Torg (?), on his memories of their not-so-infamous date...

And last, but not least:

"Here endeth the lesson." - Buffy, letting her charges know that now is *not* the time to have that death wish Spike talked about in a time that now seems so long ago...

Dear Hubby Quote of the Night:

"I was getting kinda suspicious..." After hearing me gasp when we saw the dead Eve...

Ewwwwwww score:

5 out of 10. More painful wincing this week as Buffy got the snot beaten out of her, but it was rather expected, wasn't it? We all know what Uber-Vamp did the first time out...

Furry Spike score:

3 Paws. Another solid ep, even if the negativity of the Slayerettes had me getting rather grumbly (I know, I know, we were supposed to be exasperated, I guess...). The pacing was pretty good, and the dialogue just had me in stitches at points. And *any* episode that harks back to "Fool For Love" gets extra Spike points... Furry Spike says that he'll even throw in one of his puppy toys to up the score. (By the way, you can go to http://www.members.cox.net/eskilvr/Puppy%20Christmas%20Card%20Large.jpg to see Spike and his sisters in their own version of the Comfy Chair... Spike's on the left, Snowy's in the middle, Sadie's on the right.)

Overall:

A pretty darned good ep. I'm just bummed that we have to wait two more weeks to find out how Buffy and Spike (not to mention the rest of the Scoobs) react to his being back in the fold... not to mention the Slayerettes...

Which brings up a sad little point: unfortunately, I will be on a business trip on the 21st <sob!>, with no access to my TabRas connections... <sob again>. My wonderful hubby will be taping it for me, so I'll be able to watch it when I get back, but I won't be able to get into my Comfy Chair at least until the next Monday (that Sunday night if I'm lucky). If we get any wonderful Spuffy moments, please think of me... the group I'm travelling with won't understand if I hold them hostage to watch BTVS rather than going to eat dinner. Considering I'm the only one authorized to drive the rental car, I'm pretty sure that it would be safer for me to take them to eat...

Now that my pathetic whimpering is over...

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday season!

Hugs to all,

---

Kris