PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A SPOILER-RICH ZONE

PLEASE NOTE: THIS IS A SPOILER-RICH ZONE. If your diet requires you to dine on television spoiler-free ... good luck with that.

REVIEW ARCHIVES

Wednesday, January 28, 2015

Kick the Spike



Episode 5.13: Blood Ties. Original Airdate 2.6.01



"When Dawn learns her true identity, she runs away - only to encounter Glory."







Daniel's Thoughts:

  • Hey! A Buffy birthday!
  • “The bigger they are…” “The faster they stomp you into nothing.”
  • Oh, the reveal.  I’m glad Buffy and Giles finally told the gang about Dawn.  It was the right time.
  • Ever notice that one of the scenes they show of Xander in the opening credits is of him peeing.
  • Oh, except they’re all acting weird.
  • So Joyce and Dawn are allowed out of the crypt now?  This was just a temporary stay? No more danger?
  • “You make a very pretty little girl!”
  • “Xander needs help with his thing!”
  • “I want the presents!”  You’ll have to wait for the 4th of July, Anya.
I wish it was mine!

  • “It’s a picture of when we visited San Diego that summer.” BECAUSE I WAS ALWAYS HERE.
  • Did Willow cut the cake without Buffy?
  • Look, Dawn’s annoying but she’s a smart girl.  She knows something is going on.
  • Teletubbies? Remember when that was a thing?
  • Shouldn't Willow’s protection spell be going off right about when Spike picks the lock?
  • Dawn’s face when she’s finding out and putting all the pieces together.
  • Wow, we’re still talking about Riley.
  • I love her reaction.  It’s heartbreaking.  I mean, imagine finding out you were blipped into existence less than six months ago.
  • The one time I’m on Spike’s side.  It wasn't his fault she found out.  Maybe she should have been told earlier.
  • I mean the amount of detail in this spell.  Holy crap. All those diaries that were just magically filled.
  • I hate the “overhearing the wrong thing" TV trope.
  • Dawn’s room is so weird. There’s a foyer!
Why is there a little room before you get to Dawn's room?!

  • Spike & Buffy are always together when they all split up.  It’s like Fred always choosing Daphne over Velma.
  • Is Buffy wearing a fur coat? In southern California?
  • Dawn is just dumb here.  Why would she just tell some random guy.  She has to know how dangerous it is.
  • Dawn seems to remember the Glory/Ben connection a lot longer than most people do.
  • I love that Glory always fights in an evening gown.
  • Willow & Tara throw glitter on Glory.  Man that’s the worst. She’ll be seeing that for weeks.  Good plan. Oh, the teleportation spell worked too.
  • I’m confused as to who or what Ben exactly is.  Is he a God too?  It seems he might just be a host? But for how long?



Zelda's Thoughts:

  • It's Happy Birthday Buffy!
  • Also YAY the Council's gone.
  • "I know way more about dimensions than Giles does. [Giles frowns] Well I do."
  • BTW we got confirmation in the comments on our last post that Nicky was indeed injured (a sprain) and that's why he's still in a cast from Olaf's attack.
  • Oh I see, now that we know Glory's a god, she's willing to say it herself? Coulda saved us a lot of time there, show.
  • Yep everyone's being weird with Dawn now that they know. But Anya wins. "You make a very pretty little girl!" "Xander needs help with his thing!"
  • Oh Dawn. No way is Glory prettier than Buffy.
  • "This is extremely suspenseful! I want the presents."
  • Oh Dawn. It's not that they don't want you to hear about Xander and Anya's escapades. It's that none of them want to hear about it. Stop bratting.
  • "I wasn't lurking. I was standing about. It's a whole different vibe."
  • "I'm breaking into the Magic Shop. To steal things." Foreshadowing!
  • So I guess the protective spell cast by Willow and Tara wasn't alerted by Spike? He really is neutered.
  • Spike is bored. "Hey! Troll hammer!" *thunk* I actually don't think I ever registered that moment before.
  • It's a pretty horrifying image, Dawn with the knife and the bleeding arm.


  • It's a problem, I know Dawn is in pain, but the "Get out Get Out GET OOOOOUT" makes me laugh.
  • "A round of Kick the Spike." Ah, memories, youth, nostalgia, all that.
  • "Blobs of energy don't need an education."
  • Oh look, my favorite trope of characters overhearing only part of a conversation and taking it the wrong way. No wait, I fucking hate this trope.
  • Dawn's breakdown in her room was pretty well done.
  • Spike's pep talk would be more effective if he didn't sound so resentful about it.
  • Shit man, that's also pretty horrifying. Dawn goes to the mental ward to see the people who see her for what she is.
  • "There've been a lot of nights I wish ... she didn't exist either." Gosh, Ben, what could you do to achieve this? there must be some thing you could dooooooooooo
  • Gasp Ben is Glory, Glory is Ben!
  • Nice of Ben to keep a dress for Glory in his locker. Wonder if any of the other interns have noticed.
  • So right now Dawn remembers that Ben is Glory, but we know that knowledge will fade away. That was not clear to me on my initial watch, and I was like "WHY ISN'T DAWN TELLING BUFFY THE WHOLE STORY."
  • Um. Shenanigans? Buffy takes Spike with her to hunt for Dawn but they don't try to use his enhanced vampire nostrils to track her?
  • I think Glory likes playing Kick the Spike.
  • Yay good job Willow and Tara! You transported Glory elsewheres.
  • "It doesn't matter where you came from, or how you got here. You are my sister. There's no way you could annoy me so much if you weren't."

Favorite Lines:

Daniel: "You make a very pretty little girl!" - Anya
Zelda: "It doesn't matter where you came from, or how you got here. You are my sister." - Buffy


Arc/Continuity Stuff:

  • First appearance: GET OUT GET OUT GET OUT
  • Recurring: Joyce, Tara, Knights of Byzantium, Glory and her minions, Olaf's Troll Hammer, Ben
  • Buffy's turning 20. So. Still not allowed to drink.
  • Glory's immortal, invulnerable, and insane, but being held in a human body is limiting her extended powers and also she's a brain sucker and is crazy.
  • All the Scoobies (including Dawn and Spike) know Dawn is the Key. So does Ben.
  • Also Ben is Glory.
  • Willow did a spell somewhat outside of her power level, and got a nosebleed for her trouble.


Stats:

Anya's Hair - blonde, curly, shoulder-length
Dead Humans - 3
Dead Undeads - 0
Giles Unconscious - 0
Giles Cleans His Glasses - 0
Buffy Breaks a Door - 1
Evil Reveal - 0
Unevil Reveal - 0
Shenanigans Called - 1
Apocalypse Called - 0

7 comments:

  1. "Ever notice that one of the scenes they show of Xander in the opening"
    Wait what? I'm going to have to go and watch the season 5 opening credits now.

    Also, I'm jealous of Dawn's weird room. My house doesn't even have a foyer/mud room. :-/

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    Replies
    1. I just want to clarify that I meant because I never noticed before and not because I'm actually interested in seeing Xander pee.

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    2. Haha. It's the scene from Restless where he turns and sees the crew watching him.

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    3. Oh yeah! I didn't realize that was in the credits though. I only remember the double Xanders being in the credits.

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  2. Yes also hate the "overhearing the wrong thing" TV trope. Especially when it doesn't get explained later "oh you heard…no well you see actually we were saying…" It's almost as bad as when two people have something to say and one goes first and then the other cannot say their thing…hate it!
    Also it annoys me that yes everyone is acting weird around Dawn maybe a little but Anya is weird all the time and actually they were not talking about Dawn when she had her major strop.
    But onto better things love love love "who's bad now?" Excellent delivery and super hot!
    Lola

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  3. PS
    So true about the sparkly dress. Almost a shenanigan except I guess Glory could have put it there but you would think Ben would chuck it. It would surely be easier for both of them if they stuck to gender neutral clothes

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  4. Everyone loves to play "kick the spike" :(

    ReplyDelete