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