Evil Lint

Episode 6.5: Life Serial. Original Airdate 10.23.01

"The Geek Trio begin their plans by testing Buffy's abilities and subsequently ruining her attempts at employment."

Daniel's Thoughts:

• I gotta go on record and say I don’t love this episode.
• Well at least Willow & Tara contribute by making food.
• "I’m a breast girl myself."  Yay, awkward lesbian humor.
• Oh yeah, Angel and Buffy saw each other…except we don’t get to see it because different networks now.
• Giles: What are you going to do with your life?  Great dinner conversation, Giles.
• Ugh.  A trio episode.
• I still don’t understand why Jonathan wants to destroy Buffy.  She’s helped him so many times.  Is he that desperate for friends?  Like, none of the shenanigans he got up to was really about destroying the town or being a supervillain like those other two.
• "Introduction to Pies." I think that was a Community episode.
• Ok, so the first nerd’s plan.  The button that makes Buffy slow? Or everyone else fast? Is that what it does? It’s never fully clear.  Does it speed up time?
• Ok, so this first part, it looked to Tara like she was just standing there looking at the book.  But what about everyone else? Once Tara went to class.  Did everyone think she was a statue?  And then after class, Tara was standing there talking to her.  Did she just walk away when  Buffy was standing there?  And then everyone is going so fast that they bumped into her and she fell.  Did they not see her? Was she invisible?  This entire plan gets a huge SHENANIGAN.  It makes absolutely no sense.  Just physically, it makes absolutely no sense. We never see the other perspective so we never know what’s actually happening.
• Buffy: “Retail?  I’d rather be dead. Again.”  Aww, she still has her sense of humor.
• Tony and the Construction Boys don’t want a giiiirrrrll on their team.
• Trio plan #2:   This one works more because with the misogyny of the average male.
• BUFFY’S STRONG, BITCHES.

• I love that Buffy is chatting, though, like she’s with her friends.
• Yes, they’re nerds so they like Star Trek.  We get it.  And they treat each other like the members of Big Bang Theory, another nerd crew who talk down to each other and treat each other like shit.
• I like the demon with what looks like pigtails.  I wonder what they do...
• And it really sucks that none of these construction guys can admit that Buffy saved their lives.  But yeah, that’s the whole point of this act.  GIRLS CAN’T BE STRONG AND ON OUR TEAM.
• Those are huge binoculars.
• I love the Star Wars honk.  There’s a garage in my neighborhood with a car that plays the Godfather theme.
• Why is Xander being such an asshole? [Because he’s Xander. - Everyone]  What was Buffy supposed to do?  Not save their lives?
• “That time of the month, huh?”  ugh.  Fuck, man.
• Why is Xander firing her?  This is seriously an awesome job for Buffy.
• OK, plan #3 is the worst…we’ll get to it.
• Clue #1 that Andrew is gay: internalized homophobia.
• Also, “Stop touching my magic bone!”  heh.
• The nerd stuff is so put on sometimes.
• Here we go, #3.
• “That woman! Go sell her something.” Anya is encouraging!
• Ancient Mummy hand….This isn’t Warehouse 13. 
• She’s looping.  So, time isn’t looping.  She’s just looping? Or everyone in the magic box is looping? Are they resetting?  I mean…after this all ends, will it be the same time inside and out?  Is she just in a simulation? Are Anya & Giles real?  They have no memory of the looping.  Are they just simulations and Buffy's not at the Magic Box at all?  Nothing is ever explained. Also, physics.  SHENANIGANS.
• Yes, it’s really funny.  But it makes no sense.
• “Picture yourself naked.”
• Also, why doesn’t she ask for help?  Why doesn’t she just ask Giles?  About the time thing OR she can just ask him how to handle the hand?  He must know.  Or Anya must know. They run the shop! 
• And now she confides in Spike.  Why?  Ugh.  Stop.
• And now, resorting to drinking… Not a smart move.  Though it makes an excellent gif

• Stop drinking if you don’t like the alcohol taste, Buff!
• First appearance of Clem!  Yay!
• “I need a moment with my lady.” Ew.
• Connery/Moore argument.  Big in my family. 
• Andrew, “I like Timothy Dalton”.  Only time I’m gonna agree with Andrew. Dalton was an underrated Bond.  He was the dark Bond.
• Buffy saved the kittens!
• For nerds who can manipulate time, they sure are lame with the theatrics.
• Ok, laughs aside – and there are a lot of them – this whole episode is lame.  Just because it’s a sci fi  fantasy show, doesn’t mean it can just dump on all of its premade rules.  A sci fi show is better for having those rules and not breaking them.  You just can’t throw physics in the wind for the sake of comedy.  It just doesn’t make sense with or without the concept of the show.
• And besides, if the trio are so powerful that they can manipulate time, why don’t they ever use it again?   It’s probably the most valuable thing they can do.  Much more than those stupid jet packs they get later.  Hell why do they even need jet packs? By this episodes logic, they can create something to make them fly.  Or make them appear to fly.  Or appear to loop to fly?

Zelda's Thoughts:

• I can't waaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaait for the Mummy Hand. And Clem. Even if this is basically Proto-Clem and we get the real Clem later.
• Oh right, Buffy just saw Angel.
• Buffy's hair is so pretty.
• I wonder if Buffy told Angel she was in Heaven. I kind of assume she did. She wouldn't feel the need to perform happiness for Angel like she does for the Scoobies. He's all about the brood.
• Umm this auditing thing Willow and Tara suggest, Buffy just crashing classes at UC SunnyD without registering - is that a thing you can do? You couldn't do that at NYU. Not in a room that small, anyway.
• You know, I really enjoyed the Trio on my first few watches of the series. But now ... I just. I hate Warren so much. Adam Busch is great at playing him, but I fucking hate him and his misogyny and awfulness and it's hard to find them as funny.
• I do still love Danny Strong and always will. Our award-winning Jonathan.
• "This is gonna be great." Ah yes, Buffy's opener for each act this ep.
• Hey did you guys know Douglas Petrie worked on Clarissa Explains It All? True story. I may or may not have just finished a marathon on Hulu. Also true story. I ... don't know why I brought that up.
• Warren  waving at the camera tho is kind of cute. You could almost write him off as a stupid kid if he weren't a raging douchebaguette.
• I'm glad Tara's confidence grew enough that the stuttering went away.
• "What the f-" Aw Buffy and your almost swearing.
• Buffy's cardigan has an 8, in this season's ongoing obsession with numbers.
• So ... did Tara just like ... walk away from frozen Buffy? wtf? There's some kind of shenanigan to call here. (Daniel already covered this)
• I do like the metaphor of this particular prank from the Trio - Buffy feels completely overwhelmed by the class she actually attends, which turns into the metaphor of everyone zooming around her and she can never, ever catch up.
• The Trio do have great chemistry. Still three bags of dick on a stick.
• Buffy looks super cute in her pigtails and hard hat.
• "I'd rather be dead. Again." Buffy's spirits seem to be more optimistic this ep - or they start that way. She's quippy and taking action to improve her life (negotiating bill pay, trying to pick a direction, school slash work)
• YEAH BUFFY YOU CARRY THAT BEAM. STRONG BUFFY.
• *sigh* "We get paid by the hour. You wanna ruin it for the rest of us? Slow down." I hate the mentality that quashes ambitions toward efficiency and skill. Buffy is being punished for her abilities, and this is all kinds of not right.
• HEY HERE'S A REVOLUTIONARY IDEA HOW ABOUT THE COUNCIL PAY BUFFY.
• Aw man, I'm sad for Buffy. I feel like this could have been a good-ish use of her skills, at least to hold her over til she picks a career. And the fucking Trio bollixed it up for her.
• Whereas everyone knows Buffy would suck at retail. And indeed does suck at retail. I can't believe she ends up working at the shitteous Doublemeat Palace. There've got to be better options.
• Man, FUCK this noise. "That time of the month, huh." Your stereotype as a sexist construction worker is showing, Marco.
• I'm glad Xander agrees she's being targeted with the last two adventures, and isn't trying to write off her instincts like the Scoobies sometimes do.
• The Magic Box is next to a shop called Book Stew! I wanna go to the Book Stew shop!
• It's time for the Mummy Hand sequence! I'm so excited.
• "I can illustrate with an amusing story about a crystal." Anya is delightful.
• "Why is the Slayer here, anyway? She's a student, she's a construction worker, and now she's some kind of .. selling stuff person?" // "It's like she's completely without focus." I SEE YOUR META. But it's also cute how confused the Trio is.
• Aaaaaaaaaaand homophobia.
• Next time don't burn stuff inside a van maybe.
• Oh man, Giles is gonna clean his glasses SO MANY TIMES. I am excite.
• I'm horrified that the Candle Customer thinks Essence of Slug is a seductive candle. I'm also horrified they sell a candle like that.
• The Mummy Hand Customer has no sense of humor.
• So ... no one else is aware of the Groundhog Day-ness of this sequence. But the Trio is as aware as Buffy. How/why? Is the looping limited to the confines of The Magic Box, or is the van also somehow protected, as the source of the spell? Imma go with limited to confines of the shop and move on.
• "Yes, and then I'm going to marry Bob Dole and raise penguins in Guam."
• THIS MUMMY HAND HAS CEASED TO BE. IT IS AN EX-MUMMY HAND.

Also, behold Giles cleaning his glasses FOREVER in the background.

• And then Buffy breaks Giles's glasses and I laugh forever.
• And - physics aside - one again the metaphor is great. The dull repetitive drudgery of retail, the utter impossibility of satisfied customers, the feeling that the day will never end.
• Spike! It's Spike. (sorrynotsorry)
• Aw Buffy. Getting drunk is not a lifestyle choice. Well, not a good one. Well, not a career one. But it's really too bad. She started the ep looking like things might be okay, like she's working through the depression, and she can be an adult and go around adulting everywhere. And the Trio sucked all that away from her. And so she drinks with Spike.
• Although Buffy attempting to drink whiskey is adorable.

Spike agrees.

• Spike's hair is all mussed and adorable but drop the "creature of the darkness" scenario. It's wrong.
• Clem! It's Clem.
• Kitten currency is rather absurd. It's cute as a gimmick, but why the hell do they bring it back in Tabula Rasa. Stupid.
• Also cats are evil. I wrote an essay proving it.
• "You're insane. You're short and you're insane." My sister and I used to use this one a lot.
• Clem's meaner in this ep. I'm glad they turn him into a snack-eating teddy bear later. I love Clem. Season Six from Clem's perspective would be delightful.
• Buffy agrees with me! Kittens are stupid currency.
• Aw Buffy. "You were gonna help me! You were gonna beat heads and fix my life! But you're completely lame! Tonight sucks! And look at me! Look at, look at stupid Buffy! Too dumb for college, and freak Buffy, too strong for construction work, and my job at the magic shop? I was bored to tears even before the hour that wouldn't end! And the only person I can even stand to be around is a ... neutered vampire who cheats at kitten poker. Also? I think you're drunk." I feel for her. This has not been her week, even if I've been laughing a lot this ep.
• Wtf are those lacy wings on this demon?

They just ... they seem rather flimsy for a demon of his girth.

• Wow that exit was community theater levels of bad. JonaDemon is lucky Buffy and Spike are so drunk.
• "Yeah, it was sexy the way she touched me real hard with her fists."
• "I'm really screwing up, Giles." Buffy needs a hug, you guys. Group hug for Buffy!
• GILES IS THE BEST. He gave Buffy money. Bless you, Giles. Now let's get the Council on giving Buffy a salary, mmmm?
• "In this scenario, I am your mother?" NO, GILES, YOU ARE HER FATHER AND EVERYONE KNOWS IT. DADDY GILES.
• NO, BUFFY, GILES WON'T ALWAYS BE THERE. DIDN'T YOU NOTICE HE'S ONLY A GUEST STAR NOW. HE'S JUST WAITING TO BREAK OUR HEARTS AGAIN.

Favorite Lines:

Daniel: "What the f--" *camera cuts away* - Buffy

Zelda: "Timothy Dalton should get an Oscar and beat Sean Connery over the head with it!" - Andrew

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

• First appearance: Clem. Also the concept of kittens as currency.
• Recurring: Tara, Giles, the Trio
• Buffy and Angel reunited off-screen, in a place between UPN and WB.

Stats:

Anya's Hair - honey-blonde, chunky curls, with random weird braids

Dead Humans - 0

Dead Undeads - 3

Dead Flashbacks - 0

Giles Unconscious - 0

Giles Cleans His Glasses - 6 (YEAH MUMMY HAND)

Buffy Breaks a Door - 0

Buffy Breaks a Construction Site - 1

Buffy Breaks Giles's Glasses - 1

Buffy Breaks a Bell - 1

Evil Reveal - 0

Unevil Reveal - 0

Shenanigans Called - 2

Apocalypse Called - 0

M'Cookies

Episode 6.4: Flooded. Original Airdate 10.16.01   

"Buffy's life is further complicated by mounting financial problems, a flooded basement, and a warrior demon out for her blood."

Zelda's Thoughts:

• Buffy tightens one pipe. Water bursts out of every available space, two founts pointing directly at Dawn on the stairs. That's not how this works. That's not how any of this works.
• Ok so here we begin the inconsistent characterization of Buffy's depression. Here she's sending out a fair amount of dark humor, alternating with trancing out. I'm not saying that's not believable, but it gives the audience the impression that she's closer to recovery than she is.
• I actually forgot we ever meet Tito. I thought he was just Xander's imaginary friend.
• Hey so um. How come Tara and Willow aren't helping with finances? Or getting jobs? Or contributing in any way to household expenses. Asking for an extremely outraged ME.
• "Plus, fire? Pretty."
• "It's not like it's the end of the world. Which is too bad, you know, 'cause that, I'm really good at."
• Bless you Anya. Bless you so much. You're actually trying to help with the finances with your mathy skills, and proposing solutions.
• Dawn's wearing another number shirt. 2 this time. *shrugs, wanders away*
• So they're all outraged at the thought of Buffy charging money for slaying vamps, saving lives, but ... it's obeekaybee for Angel to do it? Fuck all of this. Fuck the way Anya is laughed out of the house for her suggestion.
• "Kind of a forever deal." // "Not if you never get started." FORESHADOWING
• You go, Buffy! You snark and slay!
• The demons are stealing the money. Don't tell Anya.
• So um why is Buffy training in the dark? Asking for a me again.
• MT is annoying me again. Send her away.
• GILES IS BACK. GILES IS BACK.
• "You're ..." // "A miracle." // "Yes. But then, I always thought so." I'M FINE, IT'S JUST RAINING ON MY FACE.
• Hey so, remember how Buffy got Giles's salary reinstated? Howsabout the Council start paying her? I get that like it hasn't been an issue in the past because Slayers die young and also women aren't really people (right? that's how this works?), or Slaying is "women's work" and a sacred duty but not an actual vocation and therefore doesn't get paid, whereas Watching does ... SERIOUSLY WHY THE FUCK DOESN'T THE COUNCIL PAY BUFFY.
• Siiiiiiiiigh. The Trio. Like I like the idea, and I like all three performers, but also they rather outstay their welcome.
• Yeah notice how Warren is way more willing to kill Buffy? Can we just kill him now? Please? Before he kills Tara?
• Oooh it's rank arrogant amateur time.
• Wow, way to skate right past making Buffy claw her way out of her grave, Willow.
• "Out of everyone here, you were the one I trusted most to respect the forces of nature."
• "There are others in this world that can do what you did. You just don't want to meet them" // "No, probably not, but, well, they're the bad guys. I'm not a bad guy." God, this conversation sets up SO MUCH.
• "I wasn't lucky, I was amazing." // "You are lucky to be alive, you rank, arrogant amateur." // "You're right. The magicks I used are very powerful. I'm very powerful. And maybe it's not such a good idea for you to piss me off." Shit you guys. And Willow again skates right past the moment when she THREATENS GILES like wtaf that is horrifying. The warning signs were all there that she was the new Big Bad, you guys.
• Dawn's wearing 65. I feel like I should be tracking this but also I don't want to.
• Buffy called the demon a mook. I love it. Can we bring back mook?
• "No. More. Full. Copper. Repipe." This is my sister's favorite line in the ep.
• Ugh. Casual rapey jokes about hypnotizing Buffy into being their sex slave. Die in a fire, Trio.
• Man, why did Tony Head have to move back to England? What would this season have been if Giles hadn't left?
• Oh right. Angel.
• "Of course, you'll leave for LA tomorrow." // "Not LA. And not here. Somewhere in the middle. There's a place." A place ... neither UPN nor WB but some other channel where Buffy and Angel syndicate in complete freedom ... a place called ... FX (S6 was the year FX started airing two hours of Buffy every evening and I caught up with the whole series in time to watch the second half of the season live on TV)

Daniel's Thoughts:

• Buffy basement.  Fighting Mr. Drippy.  She fixes one leak and the basement explodes with water.  I don’t think that’s how it works.
• Why is Buffy just staring at the water?
• They keep calling it IN-surance.
• I like Anya’s enthusiasm for her idea of Buffy charging money for slaying vampires.
• And I hate that everyone’s so dismissive of it. And Jesus, Xander – you can’t ever be on Anya’s side?  It’s really gross.  Willow’s face is the worst.  Shut up, Willow.
• And hey, Angel does it.  He charged.  Sometimes. 
• It’s nice when Xander spouts these platitudes about love.  He says it a lot, but he never backs it up.
• Also, Willow and Tara, you live here.  Why aren’t you chipping in?  Get a job.
• “When are you going to grow up Xander?”  Never, Anya, Never.
• Neat jacket, demon fish guy.
• Anya’s idea doesn’t seem so dumb, now, does it?
• “Will.  What the hell are you doing?” “Pissing you off.” “Yes, true. Why?” 
• I don’t get Dawn not being able to do research.  Buffy and co were about 15 when they started.  Besides, it’s just research.  She should be prepared.
• Giles!
• Again with the Anya hug.  Love it. Her hugs are so genuine; so amazing.
• Ugh, the trio.  They’re really laughing about their friend’s potential death?  These guys…
• See, Jonathan never read evil before. He made some mistakes, but he didn’t revel in other peoples’ misfortune.  When did Jonathan become such a creep?
• Ugh, the way they talk:

• I mean, it’s weird that Willow wouldn’t know how Giles would react.  But her reaction on top of that.  She’s changed, probably the most, out of all the Buffy characters.  She’s more than new confident Willow.  She’s, as Giles puts it, arrogant.  And she's been that way for a while.
• I  love how Buffy’s trying to protect the house while fighting the demon.  That’s the cross -genre Buffy I love.
• They’re just gross, the trio.
• See, Anya’s so nice about it. She’s patiently explaining Buffy’s finances to her.  Does she ever get thanked? No.
• And a phonecall from Angel…

 Crossfire:

Crossfire 2:

Anya: *makes valid suggestions and actually sits down with Buffy to try to help her with her finances*

Willow & Tara: *stares blankly at Buffy expecting her to do and come up with everything,* *Also criticizes Anya for her suggestions* *Lives in house rent free and does absolutely nothing to help out*

Dawn:  *Actually yells at Anya for helping.  Also, does nothing whatsoever to help.*

Zelda & Daniel:

Jon Stewart came back from retirement to call
SHENANIGANS!

Favorite Lines:

Zelda: "Having Buffy back in the world makes me feel ... indescribably wonderful, but I wouldn't congratulate you if you jumped off a cliff and happened to survive." - Giles
Daniel: "No, no. Captain Logic is not steering this tugboat. I smell Captain Fear at the wheel." - Anya

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

• Recurring: Tara, Warren, Jonathan
• First appearance: Tito (in the flesh!), Andrew
• Anya and Xander's engagement is still a secret.
• Shoutout to Tucker and his Prom night devil dogs, as well as to Jonathan's and Warren's past exploits.

Stats:

Anya's Hair - long blonde, chunky waves
Dead Humans - 0
Dead Undeads - 1
Dead Flashbacks - 0
Giles Unconscious - 1
Giles Cleans His Glasses - 1
Buffy Breaks a Door - 0
Evil Reveal - 0
Unevil Reveal - 0
Shenanigans Called - 1
Apocalypse Called - 0

Evil Things Have Plans

Episode 6.3: After Life. Original Airdate 10.9.01

"As Buffy and the Scoobies adjust to her resurrection, they find themselves dealing with a mysterious spirit-demon brought back with her."

Daniel's Thoughts:

• Spooky Ghost Episode coming up. (I love these.)
• I like that these three first episodes are continuous.
• Why does Willow keep talking about Buffy being in a hell dimension.  I don’t really get why she assumes that.  IT’S NOT CANON, WILLOW.
• Still guest starring Amber Benson.  I really think she should have been a perm character by now.
• The washing Buffy with a towel scene is cute…but…if you were stuck in the ground for three months, wouldn’t you want to shower?
• “Buffy? You wanna stop?”  I love the way Dawn says that.  She’s trying to balance her joy with her frustration.
• Buffy’s sudden realization with modesty as she buttons her shirt reminds me of when she fixes Joyce’s skirt in the body.
• 147-48 days gone. That’s a lot longer than I thought.
• Protective little sister.  Love it.
• “She doesn’t want Pizza.”  Geez, Willow, how do you know that?  Everyone wants pizza.  Maybe Sunnydale pizza sucks.  It is California.  They probably put pineapple on it, or something.  That train of thought went somewhere. [I like pineapple pizza! - Z, missing the point]
• Wow.  It’s amazing how much I used to love Willow and how much I’ve grown to really dislike her.
• “Oh yeah.  Six or seven days is all you really need to get over a hell experience.”
• I actually feel for Spike here. “I worked with you all summer.”
• But they have an honest conversation, my two least favorite boys.  And I can see both sides.
• I would have liked to hear this phone conversation between Giles and Willow.  It’s a shame we didn’t get that scene.
• And I can’t believe Willow expected a ‘thank you’ so quickly.  You brought Buffy back for selfish reasons, Will, don’t deny that.  We’re all glad, but don’t expect Buffy to be thankful right away.
• Creepy ghost Buffy is creepy!
• I’ve had nightmares like this.
• "What if we dreamed it?"//" Yeah, yeah, no, different brains."//" Oh yeah."
• Omg, Xander’s phone.  So 90s. 
• Oh, this thing with Anya cutting up her face is so freaking creepy.

But her hair looks beautiful....so...

• “Are you ok?” Buffy changes the subject.
• Anya: “Maybe you were going crazy, from hell” Willow gives her a look. “No, you’re fine.”  Z and are rolling laughing.  Her delivery.  Amazing.
• “I miss Giles.”  Aww.
• Dawn breathing out fire is amazing
• “Evil things have plans.  They have things to do.”
• Random thought, but I really hate that Buffy hasn’t (and will never) ask what happened to Glory.  If I had died to save the world, I’d want to know what happened to the person (god) I died to finish off. [There's some cut dialogue in S7 where she and Giles discuss his murder of Ben ... but cut, so not canon - Z]
• I disagree with Tara.  I prefer seeing sunrise from the wrong side; the night before.
• Aww, crap.  Nice going Tara & Willow.  Just tell the demon how to exist.
• Scary ghost demon.
• “You’re like a snail.  A snail that drives very slowly.”
• WHY IS WILLOW WEARING A BATH MAT!?

• And Buffy is lying to make her friend feel better, “I was in hell.”
• But she tells Spike the truth.  She was happy – wherever she was.
• She describes it so beautifully, though she doesn’t mention her mom.
• “I think I was in heaven.” SO GIVE ME SOMETHING TO SING ABOUT.

Zelda's Thoughts:

• Aw this is the Spuffyfeels ep, if I recall correctly. I better find some gifs for this. Otherwise you're in for a lot of "Spike's face. Spike's face, you guys. His face when he sees her face."
• Dawn is officially taller than Buffy now. Heh.
• Good makeup job on Buffy's knuckles. They look swollen and infected.
• "What else is different?" That quiet frustration, resignation. She doesn't really understand the changes, but just wants to stop being surprised.
• Spike's face though when he realizes it's Buffy. The way his eyes are just trying to drink every nuance (I did warn you guys. James Marsters acts the hell out of this episode). "What did you do?"

• The way he wants to touch her, to see she's real, but seeing how fragile she is, knowing not to break her.
• "How long was I gone?" // ''..147 days yesterday. Uh ... 148 today. 'Cept today doesn't count, does it? How long was it for you, where you were? " // "Longer." So much in that exchange.

• And then the Scoobies show up, noise and overwhelming energy, questions and crowding.
• And Dawn makes them back off. You go, Dawn.
• And Buffy has to check with Dawn, before it's another unpleasant surprise, "My room is still ...?"
• "You didn't tell me. You brought her back and you didn't tell me." // "Well, now you know." // "I worked beside you all summer."
• Spike sees, if Xander doesn't, the extent to which Willow will go. (that's why she shut me out)
• Spike drives off on his brand new demon biker motorcycle.
• "If things did go right, wouldn't you think she'd be happier?"
• Scary Nightmare Buffy's delivery reminds me a little of her Sally Bowles performance in Willow's dream in Restless. Which, if we're dealing with this demon manifesting Willow's insecurities, totally works. 
• God, watching Anya slicing at her face is just horrifying.
• Oh look. Buffy has a backyard. Have we EVER seen the backyard before? I know we've done the back porch, but have we spent time in the actual yard before this season? [Wasn't dead zombie cat buried there?  Even that might have been the side yard - D]
• Willow: "We're rolling in puppies." Me: "Pretty sure that's not a thing."
• Last night Buffy was wearing a white long sleeve button down. This morning it's a black long sleeve button down.
• Buffy misses Giles. Me too, Buffy. Me too.
• The books are on fire! Did Xander speak Latin in front of them?
• "Evil things have plans. They have things to do." *cut to Spike pacing angrily but aimlessly* I see you, show.
• Time for some Spuffy feels! Buffy's still pretty vacant, so maybe it's just #JamesActingFeels. "But I want you to know, I did save you ... Every night I save you."
• "We made a demon? Bad us."
• "If you think you can give her back to me, and then take her away again? No. That's worse than if you never brought her back. You can't mess with people's lives this way!" Dawn's saying basically the same thing Spike did, but with less awareness of the wider implications of why Willow didn't tell them in the first place.
• Poor SMG. Not only does she have to fight CGI, but she has to let it kick her butt.
• "You okay?" // "I'm going to start charging money for every person that asks me that." This is the first time she sounds a bit like old Buffy, a bit of humor in her. But then Dawn tells her that all they want is to see her being happy, something she isn't, something she doesn't know how to be right now. So now she has her instructions: perform happiness for her friends, to make their lives easier. It's the Slayer's burden to carry more weight than those around her, because she's strong enough to carry it. Strong enough to carry the lie of it. Or thinks she is.
• They're not malevolent. They really do want her to be happy. But they're a bit too myopic to see when she's not. They want to be reassured so that they can be happy with what they did.
• Ah, the one time they acknowledge that sunlight could hurt Spike.[Still, that one classroom vamp? Was like on the total other side of the room from the sunlit windows and sprang into flames almost immediately. - D]
• "It's okay. I can be alone with you here."
• Spike, who's obsessed enough with her to be able to see that she's still in pain.
• "I was happy. Wherever I was, I was happy. At peace." And that's why it hurts so much. They took it away from her. They took her away from happiness.
• "I was warm, and I was loved, and I was finished. Complete." 
• "Everything here is hard and bright and violent. Everything I feel, everything I touch, this is Hell." Heartbreaking callback to her question last episode.
• So why is she able to tell Spike what she can't tell the others? She can't tell Dawn, Dawn needs her too much. She can't tell the Scoobies, they need to know that they did a good thing, that they saved her. Spike doesn't need those things from her, really. I think it marks a shift in his obsession/love with her. Her death took some of the neediness out of his love for her - she was no longer alive to ever be able to return the love, but the love remained, the devotion, and it translated into other things - helping the Scoobies, caring for Dawn. Now she's back, and he still loves her, but he's not asking her to love him back (well, not right now. I recognize toxic unhealthy Spuffy times are just around the corner, but give me this episode. This episode is golden to my shipping heart)

Favorite Lines:

Daniel: "You're like a snail. A snail that drives very slowly." - Anya

Zelda: "I do remember what I said. The promise. To protect her. If I had done that, even if I didn't make it, you wouldn't have had to jump. But I want you to know I did save you. Not when it counted, of course, but after that. Every night after that. I'd see it all again ... do something different. Faster or more clever, you know? Dozens of times, lots of different ways ... every night I save you." - Spike

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

• Recurring: Tara
• Buffy died 147 days ago. Willow brought her back. Turns out she was in Heaven. #Awkward.

Stats:

Anya's Hair - long, blonde, loose

Dead Humans - 0

Dead Undeads - 1

Dead Flashbacks - 0

Giles Unconscious - Idk, did he take an ambien on the flight?

Giles Cleans His Glasses - 1 (if Willow is to be trusted)

Buffy Breaks a Door - 0

Evil Reveal - 0

Unevil Reveal - 0

Shenanigans Called - 0

Apocalypse Called - 0