Irony's Kind of Ironic That Way

Episode 4.13: The I in Team. Original Airdate 2.8.00

"Buffy joins the Initiative, but her self-reliant and curious attitude doesn't mesh well with the military's chain of command."

Daniel's Thoughts:

• Anya is so cute :)  She plays cards like a ten year old.  Side story…I used to win against my grandma all the time because I could read the cards in her glasses.  It was all very innocent – I had no idea I was cheating.
• Anya: "Yes we’ve enjoyed spanking."  HEE
• This is my favorite – where Buffy proves just how amazing she really is, taking out like 30 initiative guys
• And she’s so modest about it, too.
• At this point Riley is so proud of her – let’s hope that lasts and he doesn’t suddenly feel threatened.  …
• Willow needs to get over this anti-Anya thing, STAT.  It's part of what makes me really start to dislike her in the later seasons.
• Oh hey! It’s Giles and Spike!  Neither have anything to do, so let’s put them together.
• Where is Giles getting this money to pay Spike?  He doesn’t have a job.  Is the Watcher’s council giving him severance?
• They’re called Scoobies, Spike, not Slayerettes. 
• Buffy and Riley would produce beautiful babies
• Oh Maggie Walsh – I feel like she gets more praise than she deserves.  She’s kind of bland, I think.
• I forgot how funny this episode is – it’s got a lot of cute zingers.
• A pager? Really?  I mean…I guess doctors still use them – but wouldn’t a cell be better?  I mean the 90s are over.
• Tara’s so sweet.  She’s flirting so dorkily.  And Willow…she’s just not there yet.
• Is this the first time we see Anya really getting excited about money? I think it is.  I mean how has she been living thus far?  We still have no idea where she lives – how she lives and eats and buys things and all that lovely stuff.
• Anya’s so uncomfortable.  Don’t worry, An, you’re an ex-demon.  They go for current demons.
• Hey! All the beeping!  That must get annoying when the boys go to the movies.
• Hehe, Buffy is so damn cute.
• “Don’t worry. I’ve patrolled in this halter many times.”  Yep – and leather pants.  If Buffy can fight demons in leather pants, she can fight them in anything.
• Of course Tara is extremely happy to have you come over, Willow – even if you kind of blew her off earlier.
• Heh  - Spike was grocery shopping.  What could he have to buy?
• Fighting leads to Sex.  Yeah – it’s like Faith said that one time, “Isn’t it crazy how slaying makes you hungry and horny?”  
• So this is the first time Buffy’s going to have sex without someone losing his soul or just becoming a total asshole.  Good for her.
• Gross, Walsh – watching Buffy & Riley have sex.  Tsk.
• Ha! Stupid Spike.  I love that Giles gets the upper hand here.  And his cash back.
• Oh Riley – ignorance is bliss.
• Oh Riley, don’t put that shirt back on.
• It’s amazing how many times Xander’s soldier knowledge from Halloween has come back to help the Scoobies.  I wonder how much knowledge Buffy still has of 18^th century girly stuff and if that ever helped her....in history class?
• Walsh should really know better than that – I mean she knows how tough Buffy is.  Did she really think a couple of demons would stop her?
• I don’t know if I love this “two completely separate stories” thing.  I mean I suppose they both have to do with the initiative.  It worked so well in Anne.  But that’s because Buffy wasn’t even in the same town.  I hate that she hasn’t even had a scene with Giles at all.  I think that’s one of the downfalls of the season – that the gang really had a lot of their own things going on. [But isn't that the point of the season? That they drift apart? - Z]
• Love when Buffy gets in vengeance mode.
• Goodbye, Maggie Walsh.  It’s a shame that Buffy couldn’t do it.  But she can’t kill humans…
• I just don’t get why Adam did.  

Zelda's Thoughts:

• Willow cheats at poker. She should teach her tricks to Spike.
• Xander teaching Anya that chips = money = good. Anya's love of capitalism begins!
• "I think Riley's okay in an oafish kind of way." I think that is the most positively Xander has ever spoken of a Buffy love interest.
• Professor Walsh and your shady shady glares. You're gonna die soon and you won't be missed. However, the intended arc you embodied will be. Fucking Adam.
• Willow still doesn't like Anya, even though she seemed to be getting along with her fine during the poker game. Sigh.
• D'awww Spike has a home. With so much natural light WHAT IS WRONG WITH SUNNYDALE VAMPIRES AND THEIR LACK OF SELF-PRESERVATION.
• So if Spike gets to charge for helping Giles out of the evilness of his heart, and Cordy and Angel are trying to charge for saving lives in LA, how come Buffy STILL doesn't get a stipend from The Council? Freaking shenanigans. All my favorite fanfics involve Buffy finally getting paid for what she does.
• It's interesting that Giles is trying to feel Spike out for whether he wants to join the good fight, especially considering how little he trusts him with anything in later seasons.
• Buffy looks especially pretty this episode. Weird skirt, but great hair/makeup.
• Ohhhhh the double entendres of the Initiative/Riley's penis.
• God Riley is so much taller than Buffy. Every time they go for a kiss, I wince for both of their necks.
• I think I can pretty firmly point to here as when my disappointment with the season began. I'm just so underwhelmed by everything going on right now.
• "But I'm certain in time you'll pick that up. Don't pick that up." It's stupid but I still love that line.
• Man, Walsh needs to really stop talking to Buffy like she's a foolish child. You'd think she'd have gained some more respect by this point, after the run down Buffy gave her of her experience, and Buffy's demonstration the night before. It's just stupid.
• Ugh Tara's stutter. My least favorite recurring character is Tara's stutter.
• Also Tara's unflattering wardrobe. Amber Benson is a beautiful woman and I feel like they're trying to hide that for arbitrary reasons.
• Willow, your sweater is grey! You are kind to me! ... Your skirt is still pink. Never mind.
• Fucking Adam. Fucking horrible Adam. I hate you.
• "Living the Life of Riley." I see what you did there.
• "This is Graham, that's Forrest, and Extra and Other Extra in the back."
• Aw Willow. "I could have invited somebody else if I knew it was an open free-for-all."
• I really really wish I liked AB better because the Willow/Tara relationship is very sweet and yay.
• Willow's asking some good questions about The Initiative's endgame. Listen to the voice of bad sweaters, Buffy.
• "It's imperative, when ensnaring it, not to damage its arms." BECAUSE WE HAVE EVIL PLANS. PLANS OF EVILNESS.
• Ugh.
• See, but this scene is a good example of where I thought the season was going. The military cut and dry presentation, and Buffy asking questions, not following protocol of briefing structure, trying to figure out motivation, and her general casual interactions.
• Tara has a single? Swank. Can I be Tara's girlfriend too? I bet her room is even bigger than Willow's and Buffy's double, because why not.
• Seriously, they shoulda had a boot camp for the actors playing Initiative soldiers. They're all just strolling or standing around, and it doesn't feel military at all.
• Aw Spike lost his groceries. Stupid soldiers. Wait, what are my priorities again?
• Aaaaaaaaand now it's time for the weirdest sequence ever. Slow mo fighting intercut with Buffy Riley sexytimes. What's their ship name? Biley? Ruffy? I hate both of those.
• And to add ew on top of ew, Maggie Walsh is watching the entire fucking thing on spy cameras. You are a gross person, Maggie Walsh.
• Giles's face when he eats the bar. "Please leave my home now." And then he looks for a place to spit it out.
• "And no cheek from you." Giles zips his lips shut. Giiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiles I love you.
• Giles and Spike, buddy cop show. They have such good chemistry.
• Riley's vitamins. EVIL DRUGS REALLY BECAUSE MAGGIE WALSH IS AWFUL.
• "What's 314?" *phone immediately rings* coincidence and leprechauns, Buffy.
• Oh hey. Spike shirtless. Spike's shoulders. Also what's that scar on his shoulder, right above the giant blue vein? Do we think that belongs to Spike or to JM?

I'm not fixating you're fixating.

• Oho. Willow spent the night with Taraaaaaaaaaaa.
• Willow and Buffy aren't talking. Sad feels.
• I do believe that Maggie Walsh isn't yay-killing-people about this, I do believe she's sad Buffy must die. She's clearly weighed the various threats she perceives, and thinks it's for the greater good of her Terrible Fucking Adam Plan, that Buffy be taken out of the picture. But like. Seriously, fuck her, if she thinks it's better to kill a human - and not just a human, but one of the best warriors for good the world has - than to have her stupid project discovered. Fuck you, Maggie Walsh.
• It's a trick! Buffy ain't dead. It takes at least two inches of water to kill Buffy.
• urrrrrrr MB is not good at the whole "Buffy is dead" scene
• Buffy BAMFing it up with her message to Maggie Walsh. "If you think that's enough to kill me, you really don't know what a Slayer is. Trust me when I say you're gonna find out."
• You've lost him, Maggie. And you ain't getting him back. Mostly because you'll be dead soon.
• I actually wonder if she could have won him back, talked him back to her side. He's still very much military mindset. I wonder.
• BUT WE'LL NEVER KNOW. Fucking Adam.
• Seriously, Fucking Adam.

Favorite Lines:

Daniel:

Zelda: 

Trust me when I say you're gonna find out.

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

• Recurring: Walsh, Graham, Forrest, Tara, Anya
• First appearance: Spike's Crypt. Dr. Angelman, Adam, Anya's Capitalism.
• Buffy and Riley sleep together for the first time.
• Xander's vague memories of being a soldier tell us that Spike's got a tracer in his shoulder.
• Adam kills Professor Walsh.

Stats:

Anya's Hair - honey-colored, curly and short

Xander's Job - hocking boost bars

Dead Humans - 1

Dead Undeads - 2

Giles Unconscious - 0

Giles Cleans His Glasses - 0

Buffy Breaks a Door - 0

Evil Reveal - 1 (Maggie Walsh)

Unevil Reveal - 0

Shenanigans Called - 1

Apocalypse Called - 0