Same Time, Same Place

by Jerry

Jane Espenson's "Same Time, Same Place", episode three of the season, deals primarily with Willow's return to Sunnydale, her fears over the reception she'll get from her friends, and her first steps towards regaining their trust.

We open with a shot of a clock, and see it's on the wall at Sunnydale International Airport, where Buffy, Dawn, and Xander are aprehensively awaiting Willow's arrival. Xander is holding a large sign with something to the effect of "Welcome Back Willow" barely visible in yellow writing. He explains that he used yellow crayon, in reference to his world-saving speech in "Grave". Dawn mockingly asks him to tell that story yet again, and it's clear he never tires of recounting his moment of glory. I'm usually more discrete about discussing the times I saved the world.

Buffy and Dawn are nervous about seeing Willow again. Xander's okay with it, but Buffy doesn't know what to say or how to react after the things Willow did. And Dawn's justifiably jumpy when told that Willow left England early. "She didn't finish? She didn't finish not being evil?" Dawn seems to hold a grudge for some reason over Willow's attempt to kill her. Buffy reassures her that Giles said Willow was doing okay. But Xander notes that everyone is off the plane, and there's no sign of Willow.

Suddenly the clock is back where it was to start the show, and we see the same passengers disembarking. This time, Willow is among them. She looks very unsure of herself, and as she stands in the exact spot we previously saw Buffy and Co. in, she looks around disconsolately at the lack of a welcoming committee. "Welcome home, me", she says sadly.

This week's excerpt from the credits - Xander getting dazed by a light shining in his face, a shot that I'm pretty sure we haven't seen yet in an actual episode. (Can't highlight Roller-Anya every week).

Now, we're on a darkened construction site, where a young graffiti 'artist' is practicing his craft. We, but not he, see a creature flitting around in the foreground, clicking it's sharpened fingernails, and taunting in a creepy voice. "All alone, all alone! The wind talks when you're alone!" The young man turns around and feigns defiance, until we see him getting raked with the creature's claws, and the scene ends.

Willow is on the front porch of Buffy's house at night, looking concerned. She knocks and calls out, no one answers, and she lets herself in the back door. As she walks through the kitchen the microwave clock shows 10:41. She wanders upstairs, into the room she had shared with Tara, and finds it is now Buffy (complete with Buffy nameplate on the door, which I think she's a bit old for, but that's just my opinion). Willow gazes sadly over how the room, noting how Buffy's stuff occupies the places that had been hers. In a nicely subtle scene, she puts her hand on the window, recalling the bullet that came through there to kill Tara and lay waste to Willow's life. She sees the photos Buffy has displayed, of herself, Xander, and Dawn -but none of Willow. Approaching Buffy's desk, Willow finds a page with "family phone numbers", which again include Xander, but not her (and, oddly in my view, not Giles either). Her fear that her old life doesn't want her back continues to grow.

Willow hears the door slam, but rushing downstairs, she sees nothing. Feeling very alone, she lies down to sleep on the living room couch.

Now we see the microwave clock again, and it again shows 10:41. Buffy, Dawn and Xander enter the foyer, leaving the door ajar. Buffy says that Giles confirmed Willow getting on the plane. They wonder if she got off the plane in Chicago, or snuck off while it was still in London. Dawn suggests that this means Willow's still evil. Buffy is troubled by the thought of battling evil Willow once again. Xander slams the door, and they hear the noise of Willow dropping the phone book in response. They walk up the stairs as Willow is likely coming down, but neither can see or hear the other. We see them come back down, allowing a good look at one of the worst wardrobe items Buffy has ever worn. She sits down on the couch with Xander and Dawn. Buffy notes that Giles is freaking out and blaming himself. Xander and Buffy both wonder if it's something about them that Willow couldn't deal with. Dawn is a bit more direct - she wants toknow if anyone will blame Willow. Buffy admits that they can't be there for Willow if Willow won't be there. Which is ironic as unbeknownst to her, Buffy is sitting in the exact same space in which Willow is sleeping.

In the morning, Willow wakes up in the (to her) still empty house. (somehow Buffy and Dawn got ready and out without making noises she would have heard, I guess). She tries to call Giles ("I'm calling for Giles - Mr Giles"), but she's informed he's (in)conveniently in an all-day Council meeting.

Having exhausted the list of people she actually wants to see, Willow heads downtown. Outside the boarded-up Magic Box, she see's Anya, who's continuing to remove the debris from Willow's last visit. Like Dawn, Anya isn't too vague about who's to blame for Willow's walk on the wild side - "You FEEL really responsible ? That's because you ARE really responsible!" With Willow having destroyed everything that was left of Anya's life after Xander abandoned her at the alter, Anya's not in a forgiving mood, explaining that vengeance demons prefer, well, vengeance. But Willow admits she deserves that, which dulls Anya's zeal for it. I guess punishing the repentant is just not as much fun. Anya reluctantly decides to give Willow a chance, and sits down on the curb alongside her. Willow idly breaks more of Anya's stuff in an amusing bit of stagecraft. She wants to know where everyone is, and Anya sees that as a chance to go on about what she's been up to (her old apartment, going to Brazil for vengeance, which at this point she makes sound like fun, and the fact that the others are shunning her, which is probably what she really wants to commiserate about). Willow doesn't really care about Anya's life, though - she wants to know about Buffy, Dawn, and Xander. Anya suggests that maybe they don't want to see Willow - she seems to identify with the non-acceptance she correctly thinks Willow has earned, and incorrectly thinks she's getting. She tells Willow to look at the high school - Buffy works there, Dawn goes there, Spike's insane in the basement, and Xander's doing a job there. Willow's pretty surprised by the Spike part.

Willow climbs a fence onto the construction site at the high school. She finds "Spider" (at least that's the name he left on the wall) dead and skinless, and looking quite a bit like Warren did at the end of "Villians". Off the shot of the body, we cut not back to Willow, but to Xander and Buffy, viewing the same scene. Xander found the body, cancelled the day's work, and called Buffy. Buffy notes her displeasure at being the go-to girl when skinless bodies turn up. At any rate, they both fear, understandably, that the skinless body is Willow's calling card.

Willow wanders the spacious new hallways of Sunnydale high. Both in and out of the story, there was a lot more money for school construction this time, and the place looks quite different. Not fitting in and seeking familiar faces, she enters the basement to seek out Spike. She's confronted by Crazy Spike. "You try to wall up the bad parts, and try to put your heart back where it fell out, and call yourself finished", he tells her, seemingly talking about himself, but also resonating with her pain. "You went away", he says with a tone of concern likely unexpected and unsettling to Willow. She explains that she's back now. Willow explains about the body and asks if Spike knows of anything that might do that. Spike answers that she's done it. That isn't what Willow wanted to hear. Spike starts to talk to someone who seems not there, telling her she's "glowing". He babbles about needing to hide his face, as "she" knows what he did. Willow is concerned that he's talking to her, and that he might be the killer. Spike notes that "Everyone is talking to me, no one is talking to each other". He says that someone isn't their, and that "my money's on the witch". Willow is confused, and so are we, until we see the other half of the scene...

...Xander and Buffy are wandering through the basement (Xander notes, perhaps significantly, that the blueprints are useless in the basement, as the walls seem to move), until they here Spike ranting. They enter the room as Spike is delivering his "put your heart back together" line to Willow, but they can't see her there. Buffy calls out to Spike. "You went away", he says. Buffy admits she hasn't seen him since the church (in last week's episode), and confesses that he scared her. She still seems conflicted about how to react to him, as I'd expect. I wouldn't think that she could just forget he tried to rape her, but he also made the monumental gesture of regaining his soul on her behalf, and is suffering for it. Buffy didn't ask him to do that, but now she has to figure out what to do about it, and it's not going well for wither of them. Xander also seems unusually conciliatory towards Spike. As Spike converses with the unseen Willow, they figure out that he knows something. Spike tells Buffy that she's glowing ("What's a word means glowing?"), before lapsing into some ranting about his guilt. Xander mocks his unhelpfulness, which displeases Buffy. Finally Spike figures out what's going on, and delivers his "my money's on the witch" line. "Red's a bad girl", he says, and Buffy and Xander stop in their tracks. Xander is quick to dismiss Spike's comments, as they seem to implicate Willow. Spike says that "The Slayer and her boy" think Willow did it. Xander is no happier than the rest of us to hear himself described as the Slayer's boy. Spike wanders off, muttering about things being there without permission. He's pretty crazy, but there's not much question something's in the basement, too.

Anya's in her apartment, and opens the door to find Willow. "Come in. Enjoy my personal space.", she dryly notes as Willow enters uninvited. Willow explains that she found a body by the high school. Anya uneventfully notes that that happens. Willow explains that the victim was skinned alive. "Was it you ?", they simultaneously ask each other. Anya reminds Willow that the skinning is her m.o., or at least it will look that way to Buffy. Willow agrees, and says she needs to do something good. Anya seems to understand that Willow needs to clear her name, although it's not clear whether she thinks Willow is innocent or not. "I'm surprisingly sensitive", she says unironically. She agrees to help Willow as long as it isn't inconvenient.

The lights are out, candles are lit, and Anya and Willow are seated on the floor around a map, echoing the spell that Willow and Tara attempted in (I think) "This Year's Girl". Anya is concerned about whether things will get all sexy, which Willow, never a big fan of Anya's, strongly doubts. Anya wants to know if the spell will hurt her carpet (given the amount of property damage Willow has caused her, it's a valid question), but Willow says no. They do the spell, and it work. Not only does Anya not sabotauge the spell as Tara had (believing she was a demon), she gleefully points out the glowing spot on the map that marks her location. There's an enormous concentration of lights where the High School is. Suddenly, the hellmouthy part of the map bursts into flames. Being a bit possessive of her remaining worldly goods, Anya isn't pleased about the damage to her carpet. Willow looks at the burns on the map and figures out the place she wants to check for the demon. A spot in the woods, or perhaps a cave. Willow wants Anya to teleport over there. Anya admits she's out of favor with D'Hoffryn (because of the spell she undid last week), and is no longer allowed to teleport except for work (Those of you inclined to think she's been spending her weekends in the UK shacked up with Giles someplace can see why she's grumpy about that). Anya goes on to explain that she's also not really into the vengeance anymore - in fact, she finds it quite upsetting. Willow has a very twelve-step way of phrasing how it feels for her. Anya finds that really over-dramatic, but basically true. They bond over their common ground. Anya claims that the spell "got a little sexy". It didn't seem that way to me, but I think she wants a friend badly enough to reach out to Willow in a way she thinks Willow will respond to. And in fact, Willow's first instinct is to agree - she's always wanted to be loved - until she thinks about what's going on and denies it. She's not nearly over Tara, she's never really been that fond of Anya, and she's got bigger problems anyway. Willow runs off to seek the cave.

Back at Revelo Drive, Buffy, Xander, and Dawn are doing research. Mostly, Dawn is enthusiastically doing research at the computer, while Buffy and Xander half-heartedly go through books. Dawn is online at "Demons, Demons, Demons", a site familiar to "Angel" watchers. Buffy fumes to Xander that they are wasting their time, as they already know who is responsible (i.e. Willow). Dawn proudly explains to Buffy and Xander about Gnarl (not The Gnarl, as Anya will point out later), a demon she's found who paralyzes his victims with his fingernails, then strips off and eats their skin (ick). Buffy sees no reason to think believe Gnarl is the demon of the day, but Dawn points out that the lack of much blood at the scene points to the blood-guzzling Gnarl. Score one for Dawn, and Buffy and Xander discuss how to track him. Xander wants to go ask at Willy's (been quite a while since we've heard his name), but Buffy clumsily suggests being smart instead, and following the trail of blood. Not only does Xander not know what she means, he doesn't even realize she's insulted him. Sort of a bad brain day for Xander, I suppose.

We're in the woods now, and Buffy and Company are following their muttering, platinum blonde bloodhound. Spike's still weighted down by the soul, but he's sane enough to get the job done, and being away from the school seems to make him better. Living in the basement apparently has been no better for Spike's hygiene than for his sanity, as Buffy comments on following "the ripe smell of Spike". Dawn is a bit giddy about her new crime-solving expertise, enthusing over her plans to build a database of demon information and wear high heels, as they arrive at the scene. Xander notes derisively that it's just a cliff. Spike (who seems like some of his craziness is a put-on when it suits him) points out it's a cave. "I'm insane - what's his excuse?", he asks, and wanders out of the episode.

Simultaneously, Willow arrives alone at the same cave. Crawling in (unarmed, not the best plan for dealing with a skin-eating beastie), she hears the scampering noise of the Gollum-like Gnarl hiding out. Buffy, Xander, and Dawn hear the same as they enter with swords and crossbows drawn. "All alone," Gnarl taunts Willow, preying on her insecurities (though the others can hear him too), "look at the shorn lamb - see how it trembles." Suddenly, Gnarl leaps out from nowhere and slashes Dawn with his paralyzing nails. As she quickly loses movement, Buffy and Xander grab her and head for the exit. They block up the cave entrance to seal Gnarl inside, inadvertently trapping Willow.

Gnarl taunts Willow, serving as the voice of her fears that her friends no longer want her and have abandoned her to die. Willow calls on her powers, but Gnarl turns out to be inconveniently immune to magic: "Gnarl loves spells. He keeps them as pets. They love him, and they leave him alone." It doesn't look good for Willow.

Buffy and Xander are dragging Dawn through the woods. Buffy wants to get her home to check the computer for an antidote. Dawn mumbles apologies through her teeth, but Buffy congratulates her on the accuracy of her research (perhaps Dawn's got more Watcher than Slayer in her future).

Gharl slashes Willow across the stomach. As she falls to the ground, he continues to taunt her in his sing-songish voice. "They were here. Here they were. And there they went. Gone, all gone, what a pretty song." With Willow immobilized, we get one of the grossest scenes in BtVS history, as Gnarl starts licking the blood off of her stomach and peeling off and eating her skin.

Back at the house, Xander and Buffy are carrying Dawn, narrowly avoiding smashing her head going through the doorway. Their caregiver skills leave something to be desired here. First, Dawn needs to tell them not to drop her on the couch face down. Then, Buffy mistakenly tells Dawn the paralysis is permanent, when in fact it can be reversed by killing Gnarl. Then they talk at great length about what would happen if Dawn were to vomit, much to Dawn's displeasure. Deciding they can't leave Dawn alone, they decide to be nice to Anya for long enough to ask her to come over for "vomit watch".

More grossness with Gnarl, eating Willow's skin while talking about how Willow has been abandoned and is helpless.

Anya's at the house now. She's a lot less sensitive than she was in her scene with Willow. She plays around with Dawn's paralysis, discovering that Dawn can be posed like an action figure, and is quite amused by the discovery. She's able to sit Dawn upright in a less vomit-vulnerable position. Anya lets slip that she has seen Willow, and that Willow was going to the cave. Buffy realizes that Willow may be stuck in the cave. "Oh - wouldn't it be tragic if you were here being kind of silly with your comically paralyzed sister while Willow was dying ?", Anya wonders rather tactlessly, even by her standards. Buffy decides Anya needs to come with them (curiously, she does not ask Anya to teleport), and they go, leaving Dawn posed on the couch with a remote in her hand.

More Gnarl. I refuse to watch more of that to describe it. Ick.

Buffy, Xander, and Anya get to the cave. Anya can see Willow, but not only can't Buffy and Xander see her, they pass right through her. As Anya is tending to Willow (who's very releived to learn that her friends did not in fact abandon her), Gnarl attacks Buffy - tearing her shirt but just missing her skin. Buffy jabs at Gnarl with a knife, but Anya tells her to go for the eyes.Gnarl jumps over Buffy, but she pins his foot to the ground with her knife, and uses her thumbs to gouge out his eyes. Cute. Willow starts to become unparalyzed, and back at the house, Dawn falls off the couch. Anya leaves to get help, as Buffy tries to tell Willow how glad she is that Willow is back. The spell comes undone.

Back at the house, later, Willow is sitting on her bed as Buffy enters the room (She's in Buffy's old room now - Buffy's in Joyce's room, allowing Will to largely stay away from the scene of Tara's death, and Buffy to have her own bathroom instead of the one Spike attacked her in. Good planning). Willow explains that she's meditating to regrow her skin, and Buffy wonder's idly if that's how Clem got his current look. Willow says she's drawing on her powers to heal herself. She tells Buffy that she was the cause of the spell - she was so afraid of seeing the others that she unconsciously caused them to be unable to see one another. It looks like Willow has the potential to be pretty dangerous now even when she means well. She admits she still has a struggle ahead of her. Buffy confesses that she suspected Willow of the killings. Willow tells her it's her job to be suspicious, and that she had doubts herself. Buffy promises to lend her strength in her struggles.

All in all, I thought this episode took a single metaphorical idea and stretched it a bit beyond its natural life. The idea that Willow's desire to avoid facing the consequences of her actions could take physical form is a good one, leading to both comedy and drama. Gnarl was a unique and intriguing villain. But my appetite for seeing Willow have to watch someone eat her skin is limited. And Spike's very intriguing character arc was left to languish a bit to give Willow's return some room. The audience wanted to know where we go from the end of "Beneath You", but no answers were forthcoming. Time will tell.

-- Jerry

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