Klytaimnestra's Review of "Sleeper"

by Klytaimnestra

Okay, I was wrong. The nice girl wasn't the Big Bad. The psych major may or may not have been the Big Bad, but my guess is not, since there were several boys buried in that basement. Cassie was certainly BB, and Joyce might have been. Dawn did a nice job of leaping to conclusions, and Michelle Trachtenberg did a nice job of showing just by the look on her face that she was leaping to conclusions because she so wanted to believe that it really was her mother.

Highlight: Giles! Though please tell me that the total 90 seconds of screen time he's had so far doesn't add up to three of his contractual ten or eleven episodes. (Also, please tell me that he isn't decapitated at the beginning of the next episode.)

Another highlight: Continuity! Yes! Actually paying attention to what has gone before - to say nothing of beginning the same night as the last episode ended.

Real highlight: First time Buffy has ever used the word "us" and included Spike in the group.

And one last highlight: When Buffy comes looking for Spike Xander's first question is "is Spike in trouble?" not "what has Spike done?"

Eye candy moment - actually several long pleasant lingering moments - shirtless!Spike! I think we need a showering!Spike washing-away-of-Spike's-sins scene,though - or perhaps several, in the interests of underlining the metaphor.

Also, great fight scenes; great evil Spike scenes! Delighted that the Big Bad is taking on Evil Spike persona, because now we get to watch it too.

What I loved best about this episode though was of course that Spike was on-screen in almost every single shot. Evil Spike, a real Spike/Buffy fight scene, it's been way too long (and was too short), vamp Spike, sexy Spike, shirtless Spike, comic Spike; pained Spike, crazy Spike, sincere Spike, loving Spike, Spike asking for help and finally, thank God, getting some.

What's my basic feeling about this episode. I'm finding it hard to get past the "I love Spike" reaction to come up with anything coherent. He is trying so damn hard, and to discover that he's been demonically possessed, or something, and has killed at least 10 people, and remembers them all. Expecting Buffy to kill him. Hoping she will, really. My heart broke.

I think my other feeling is surprise. I wasn't expecting the Scoobies to get their act together nearly so fast. Usually none of them tell anyone anything for at least three years, or until it's too damn late, anyway. This time Willow immediately tells Dawn; and Buffy; and Buffy rapidly sifts through the available evidence and decides that Spike is telling the truth - even after he tries to kill her, again. And whips the troops into line, saying that she needs to get close to Spike (and not kill him) in order to find out more about the Big Bad. She even spots that "something is messing with us" and they need to stick together - and that 'we' includes Spike. I was NOT expecting this level of clarity from last year's gang of pathetic screw-ups. Nor was I expecting Buffy to stick up for Spike against every one of her actually pretty rational friends.

So I honestly don't know where they're going to go from here. The Big Bad is truly evil and something much worse than we've seen before; Spike sees the Big Bad when no one else does, but apparently the Big Bad can appear to anyone, and very convincingly too. Spike seems to be the canary in the mine; when he goes crazy the BB is somewhere near.

If what's going on in Angel is any indication it might be prudent to expect that this moment of Scooby, or at least Buffy, clarity is the high point of the season, and it's only going to get much much worse from here. I truly hope they don't do anything as stupid as they've done on Angel; the massive screwup of that story line (Cordy/Connor? Give me a break) makes me, for the first time really, seriously doubt the abilities of the writers of both shows. But as long as SMG doesn't get pregnant perhaps they won't have to.

Favourite line:

"Something's messing with US."

Other favourite line:

"Soulless Spike would have had me upside down and halfway to Happyland by now!"

Favourite moment:

Buffy believes him.

Unfavourite moment:

if Xander doesn't stop condescending to Anya I sincerely hope he never gets laid again.

On with next week!

Klytaimnestra