The Killer in Me

*Kris sits on the comfy part of the couch with her trusty laptop, sipping on her Diet Coke, snuggling Furry!Spike as he lays across her feet, fingers twitching in eagerness to review this first episode of sweeps...*

First off:

I am so sorry for not getting a review up for "Potential." Thanks to some miscommunication between myself and Dear Hubby, we forgot to get the show taped while I was out of town (Waaaaa!), and we haven't been able to get it downloaded yet... <sigh> Don't tell him, but I did see the last 20 minutes of it by mistake when I got back to my hotel room - it wasn't my fault that the TV told me I was watching Fox and not UPN - and then Spike came on screen after the commercial break, and I just couldn't stop watching...

But now we've got the first ep of February Sweeps to talk about - an ep that apparently was trying to be a little bit of something for everyone... hmmm...

So: Let's get to the quick commentary!

Is He Live, Or Is He Memorex Moment:

Giles! You're real!!! Or are you? Hmm... he can be touched - but how in the blue blazes *did* he escape that Bringer, anyhow?

Are We There Yet Moment:

The car ride from hell, complete with Xander and Anya playing the parts of exasperated parental types in the front seat. It was worth it to hear Anya call Xander and Andrew "2 loser geeks," though...

I've Got Your Back Moment:

Buffy and Spike in the Initiative complex... it's nice to see them working together so seamlessly again. I didn't realize how much I'd missed that... (more on this later).

Say WHAT? Moment:

Willow turning into Warren... Eek! AH really did a great job of incorporating Warren's facial expressions into her performance tonight - especially the one scene in the gun shop. Yipes!

Say WHAT and HUH?!?! Moment:

Considering that I'd forgotten most of the spoilers I'd read about this ep... were we (I and Dear Hubby, that is) the only people who thought that Amy was yet another minion of The First? Yeesh!

Oh, Boy Moment:

So, Buffy can choose to have the chip repaired or removed, eh? You just *knew* we weren't going to get that resolved this week... and Spike is so out of it that we know that he's not going to have a say... So, the question is (cue the '80s music in the background): should it stay or should it go now...

Headache Causing Moment:

Did Buffy's calling Riley for help cause Spike's head to hurt? Or was it mere coincidence? Seriously - I thought it was good that a) she had the presence of mind to make the call, b) Spike didn't fuss about it too much (he may be a macho guy, but he knows when he needs help), and c) it was wonderful that Riley actually helped out in the end. But where in the world did the name "Bass-Face" come from? I'm so confused...

Heavy Analysis:

Hmmm... I'm still not sure of what to say about this ep. Lots of in your face narrative and exposition, lots of wallowing in guilt, but no real heavy analysis, really.

Let's face it: we knew that Willow wasn't over Tara and her untimely demise (all together now: "Duh..."). You just had to know that the evening with Kennedy wasn't going to end with it being "All Gone with the Wind, with the rising music and the..." (you get the idea). While this was a great storyline to present for sweeps, it wasn't any ground that we haven't seen covered (or at least hinted at) in prior eps - but it was good to at least see it brought out into the open, even if it was courtesy of Sunnydale's resident Rat.

Have we gone from drawing parallels between Andrew and Spike to Andrew and Xander? And what's with Xander actually showing out and out *concern* for Spike? Does this mean that we're going to see Xander actually voluntarily trying to do something nice for Spike in the future? Hmmm... (I know, I'm reaching. Indulge me. <G>)

The interaction between Buffy and Spike really intrigued me this week. Buffy was all for teasing Willow about her relationship with Kennedy, but you know that she gets positively bristly anytime that someone even tries to say something along the same lines when it comes to her relationship with Spike. Yet there she is, taking care of him when he's hurt, putting herself in danger to get him the help he needs, and in the end, acting as his responsible relative when the hard decision of what to be done with the chip has to be made (you can tell that Spike is in no condition to speak for himself). It's plain that Spike trusts her with his (un)life - so what will she decide? Does she decide to put the animal on a fresh leash, or does she let the man walk free? And if she does let the man walk free, does that mean that he won't be chained to a wall in the basement for his own (and the SITs) protection anymore? The mind boggles...

The power theme resurfaced this week, didn't it? Between Amy's little speech about Willow and power, Willow's struggles to not lose herself in Warren and his megalomania, Buffy having the power to decide Spike's fate, and Giles' apparent possession of some type of power that let him escape that nasty Bringer axe... hmmmm... We also saw that The First isn't necessarily the source of all things evil - witness what Amy did to Willow. We would do well to remember that lesson in weeks to come - it may be key to understanding what we see.

(If you don't want to be spoiled for next week based off the promos, skip the next paragraph...)

I know that for Spike/Buffy fans, the promos for next week might not look too good... but here's my not-so-humble opinion: Buffy and Spike need to learn to be *friends* before they can be anything *more* than friends. We've never really seen that with them, have we? Oh, we've had the Season 5 and early Season 6 UST moments, we've had the "I trust you" moments, we've had the crypt-wrecking-energetic-sex-capades moments - but we've never really seen very many examples of the two characters acting as friends. I'd really like them to get that part of their relationship established on firm ground before anything else happens... and I just happen to think that Principal Hottie isn't all that he's cracked up to be, either - so there. You could see that TPTB were going to try to do something with the interaction between Buffy and Principal Hottie before the year is out - I'm interested to see how it all ends. Being as I'm an B/S fan, of course, I'm going to hope that it ends well for Spike, but we'll see.

Quote of the Night:

"I'm thinking brief stay." Buffy to Spike upon their entrance to the Initiative's lair.

Dear Hubby Quote of the Night:

"What the hell??!?!?!" - after seeing that Kennedy has been making smoochies with.... Warren? The First? Who? (Yes, I know, it's really Willow...)

Smart-Assed Dear Hubby Quote of the Night:

"Do you want to set the laptop down so you don't break it when you jump?" During the scene in the Initiative HQ when you just *know* that Buffy and Spike aren't alone...

Ewwwwwww score:

5 out of 10. The dead demons (and parts thereof) in the bowels of the Initiative - YUCK!

Furry Spike score:

3 Paws. Overall, it was a solid ep, but compared to the incredible ones we had at the beginning of the year, I was whimpering at the end. I have a feeling that the best writing is being saved for the end of the year... but who knows? Considering that we would have been jumping up and down to have had a story like this last year, I'm pretty darned happy. And Furry!Spike enjoyed all of his namesakes's screen time...

Overall:

B/S interaction, Willow/Kennedy/Warren (?) interaction, and Giles is the real deal (we think). Dawn didn't get much to do (except glare at Andrew a lot), Andrew got a little more to do (annoy everyone, freak out over seeing Warren), and Xander and Anya got to snipe at each other a bit more. Xander's still a geek, Amy's still a nasty word that rhymes with Witch, and Andrew still needs to take responsibility for his actions ("Warren" didn't *make* Andrew do anything - Andrew chose to take his actions based off the input he received from "Warren"). If only Kennedy wasn't so danged pushy...

Hugs to all...

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Kris