Klytaimnestra's Review of "Bring on the Night"

by Klytaimnestra

This will be a short one. I haven't that much to say.

I like this "writing team" approach. Petrie and Noxon seem to curb each other's worst excesses.

If I have one wish, it's that Giles, please, for God's sake, TOUCH SOMETHING!

I trust that there are no further questions about Spike's redemption.

Okay, I give in. Buffy is a hero. When she has been beaten to her knees, when she is bereft of any haven in the storm, when her home is in ruins, when friend and foe alike can tell her only to despair, curse God and die, when any one of us would just lie down and let Hell steamroller over us, when she agrees there is no hope of rescue, help or victory against overwhelming odds, when she herself is close to death, three days without sleep, and obviously at the last thread of the frayed end of her resources, her answer is, saddle up, let's ride.

It's been a long time since I loved Buffy. Welcome back, girl.

We are pretty certainly working towards Spuffy. The parallels between the two of them were 100%. Both are beaten into the ground by the First and its minions; both have internal bleeding and facial wounds; both are obviously at the very limits of their strength; and both respond by spitting in Evil's face and saying, bring it on.

Furthermore, Buffy doesn't say "we have to rescue Spike if we're going to learn more about the First." She says "we have to learn more about the First if we're going to rescue Spike." Priorities? And Spike, of course, is armoured against Evil by Buffy's faith in him. But we never doubted his allegiance.

Now, I don't mean to suggest that I think Buffy and Spike are ever going to get a happy ending. Only that there will be a Buffy and Spike. Possibly for five seconds before one of them dies.

I'm getting tired of the tortured-Spike scenes, shirt or no shirt. Really looking forward to seeing him fully clothed again.

A question here. Are all visitations by the dead necessarily evil? When Buffy dreams about her mother, is that the First trying to delude her? Is it her mother, giving her good advice? Or is it her subconscious, telling her she needs some sleep?

re: Giles: why didn't he hug her when she said she missed him if that was really Giles? He did last year. There are three options I think. Is it

a)the First in Giles' form, doing its best to make Buffy snap?

b) the ghost of the real Rupert Giles, being as helpful as he can be, and saying no more than the truth - that it all depends on Buffy?

c) really Giles and he's not dead?

It's puzzling, if it's either Giles' ghost, or the First, that everyone can see him at the same time. No one can see Spike's hallucinations but Spike. But perhaps the First is getting stronger.

And now for the big question mark. What is Robin Wood? Hiding bodies is never a good sign. And he asked her to come in to work, which guaranteed that she'd get no sleep today. On the other hand, perhaps he really does need her help against the Real Evil he speaks of. And I wouldn't discount the Afro-American hotness, either. BtVS has been criticized for making all the good guys whites before now; for which reason Robin is unlikely to be a villain. But then the Kittens thought Joss wouldn't kill Tara, too. The only sure thing is that Joss won't be reliably influenced by political correctness.

The Ubervamp is the Little Bad, obviously. Makes me wonder what the Big Bad is going to be. Here is what I hope:

a) that it's not Spike, broken at last;

b) that it's not Giles;

c) kinda hoping that it's not Robin Wood. Though I could live with that story.

You'll notice, incidentally, that the Magnificent Seven has finally gathered. Buffy, Willow (who is going to use magic again, you know it, I know it), Xander (the bravest of the lot, because he actually has a normal life to sacrifice); Dawn (not nearly as irritating now, and I liked the Dawn-Anya bonding), Anya, Spike, if he lives; and Giles. If it's Giles. They've gathered, the call to arms has sounded, and we're all ready for Apocalypse: Part Two.

Merry Christmas.

Klytaimnestra