Much Needed Sarcasm

Episode 7.15: Get It Done. Original Airdate 2.18.03

"The Scoobies use a spell to transport Buffy into a shadow world, where she meets the men who created the first slayer. However, in order for her to return home, the gang must find and slay a ferocious demon."

Daniel's Thoughts:

• Yay! Anya!  Anya & Spike talking/complaining about being human.  It’s fun.
• Hey, remember that plot where demons were after Anya on behalf of D’Hoffryn?  The show just remembered.
• Students running and screaming; principal closes the blinds.

• The show justifying why Andrew is still there is just so desperate.  It’s trying to poke fun of itself, but instead it’s just pointing out the ridiculousness of it all.
• Willow trying to lie is hilarious. It's like me, also trying to lie.
• Wow, Buffy explained a lot to Wood but didn’t even tell Willow about him.
• Did Buffy just call Andrew “the brains of the operation?” Really? [Actually, that explains a lot about this season. - Z]
• Aww, Chloe.
• Here comes the speech.  #17?

• “I provide much needed sarcasm..” heh.  But also, stop Anya.  I hate that they gave her that line like she’s not Buffy’s friend. It’s been proven time after time that they are friends.  Also, Anya has provided a shit ton of information and help over the years. Why rehash the same untrue thing over and over again? Is it that it’s easy?  It’s just lazy writing.
• It's also a preview of what's to come in the worst episode ever: Empty Places
• I mean Buffy is really kind of obnoxious this season and I wonder if it has something to do with her depression.  Last season it caused her to be all sad and shit and this season, it’s just kinda making her over it all.  Like, this is what she has to be and do and fuck anyone who isn’t getting in line for it.
• Where…are the potentials during this really noisy fight? Are they even in the house? (I shouldn’t ask…?  They might appear)
• “You missed her everyone sucks but me” speech.
• I love when Anya’s obnoxiousness turns out to be helpful. Especially when someone sasses her about it first.  She is helpful.  She wants to live.
• Since Nikki had this box with the shadow-portal-thingamabob, I wonder if she went through this once upon a time.
• Yeah, that’s what a guy with a soul does, Spike – gains strength off of an article of clothing he stole from a woman he killed.  I see.
• Yep, call that demon a “nancy”, Spike.  The worst thing you can call someone is a fag, so.  (I've been harping a lot lately on 'gay as a joke' lately and it's only because it's everywhere I see.)
• Hey remember that ubervamp that took like 2 episodes and barbed wire to kill?  Well there’s literally thousands now.  How are we gonna get out of this one, Buff?
• This season literally exhausts me.

Zelda's Thoughts: 

• There are now many unnamed Potentials.
• Buffy has a fancy leather bag of Slayer goodies.
• "I like to think of myself more of a 'guest-age.'"
• "You'll have to forgive Andrew. Or not. Your call."
• It is pretty cool seeing a whole battalion of Potentials training.

• "Remind me not to make her crabby." // "Might be better if you did." Beginning of Buffy's thesis this episode that no one's fighting at their full weight at the moment.
• "I'm just the one who beat him off. Repelled him would perhaps be the better phrase." Jokes I Didn't Get in 2003 for 300, Alex.
• Spike and Wood scene uuuugh the acting is so gooooooood the way they're just sizing each other up I love it

• Oh man, Dawn was finally being kind of funny and then Chloe killed herself.
• Sophia (who guestaged with us here on the blog a few times) was just telling me what a bad thing it is to bury a human body in your back yard. You can mess with the water table and all kinds of stuff. Not the best move, Buffy. Did Chloe even get a headstone?
• See, Buffy's speech is cruel and a bit over the top, but she's wrestling with feeling like she needs to push them to be ready, and dealing with her own sense of guilt and inadequacy. She's striking out, which is not good leadership behavior, and she hasn't yet figured out the right way to inspire them to their best. The Spike stuff isn't even ... that accurate anymore? He hasn't been weepy and waily for a while now.
• "Every time instructions get cryptic, someone gets hurt. Usually me."
• "Okay, so far, so creepy." I am being reminded what's good about Xander's dialogue.
• Where's Giles? I feel like Giles really should be here for this. He's gonna be pissed when he's back.
• Oh look, big scary demon.
• "You missed her Everyone Sucks But Me speech." She's ... not wrong.
• I'm too ignorant, but the internet informs me there's all kinds of problematic shit in the portrayal of the Shadow Men, and how "othered" they and the First Slayer have been portrayed.
• Aaaand we have the return of black-eyed Willow. As Daniel just said, "oops."
• It's pretty beyond fucked up that they chained the First Slayer, forced this responsibility on her. The show spends most of its time portraying the Slayer calling as an empowerment, because it literally is a woman having all this extra power, but ... it's fucked that she has no autonomy in being given the responsibility, much less - as we now see - demon essence. A huge component in true empowerment is autonomy and choice, and that's something Buffy - and The First Slayer - and every other Slayer never had. When we get to "Chosen," Buffy says she's giving the Potentials a choice, but she's not - all the Potentials we've met know what they're in for, but the montage shows us plenty who weren't clued in ahead of time. I guess they don't have a choice in being granted the power, but - since there's no longer only One who is "Chosen" - none of them has to carry the responsibility solely on her shoulders. 
• Still - this lack of consent bullshit muddies a lot of what is supposed to be an empowering narrative with Slayer stuff, and Buffy - even after rejecting and managing to repel yet another invasion - still does the same thing to the rest of the girls in the finale.
• Oh look Spike has his coat and his mojo back. Should I ask how the coat - which was last seen in Buffy's house - found its way to the school basement?
• "You violated that girl, made her kill for you, because you're weak, you're pathetic, and you obviously have nothing to show me."
• gasp Spike is smoking. I thought the show taught us that people only smoke if they're evil or about to die.
• At least Kennedy finally has a better understanding of the magic, that's it's not just fairy tale stuff. "I thought it would be, I don't know, cool, somehow. It just hurt."
• "Twinkies and kisses? Also peachy motivational tools."
• The shot of 3,000 CGI Turok-Hans is pretty bamf and terrifying. What a great way to end the episode.

Favorite Lines:

D: "Although, Twinkies and kisses—also peachy motivational tools." ~Willow.  (advice Buffy will not heed)

Z: "Do you know that Ancient Sumerians do not speak English?" // "They're worse than the French." - Dawn/Buffy

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

• First appearance: a bunch of nameless Potentials. we've reached the point where there won't be new specified personalities among the Potentials
• Recurring: The First Slayer, Chloe, Principal Wood, Kennedy, Vi, Rona, Amanda, The First (as Chloe), Chao-Ahn, the desert location from "Restless," Spike's coat, Turok-Hans
• Last appearance: Chloe
• D'Hoffryn's still pissed at Anya
• Shoutout to Snyder

Stats:

Anya's Hair - dark blonde, straight with a flip at the bottom, then curly

Dead Humans - 1

Dead Undeads - 1

Dead Potentials - 1 (Chloe)

Buffy Breaks a Door - 0

Spike Breaks the Ceiling With His Body - 1

Buffy Makes a Speech - 1

Evil Reveal - 0

Unevil Reveal -  0

Shenanigans Called - 0

Apocalypse Called - 0

A Bidet of Evil

Episode 7.14: First Date. Original Airdate 2.11.03

"Buffy accepts an invitation to dinner from Principal Wood, and the secrets of his past are revealed. Xander impresses a beautiful girl with his knowledge of knots, and she seems to be interested in tying him up. Meanwhile the First contacts Andrew in another attempt to destroy the Potentials, and Giles finds himself tongue-tied with the new Potential, Chao-Ahn [because racism is hilarious]."

Zelda's Thoughts: 

• Oh good, we've started the Giles talking loudly at Chao-Ahn, aren't language barriers hilarious hahaha racism
• Giles calling Spike a berk, however, is always delightful.
• "You think I'm losing sight of the big picture, but I'm not. When Spike had that chip, it was like having him in a muzzle. It was wrong. You can't beat evil by doing evil. I know that." Yeah, fuck you Giles.
• Oh look Ashanti stuntcasting. blah
• DB Woodside, so good, so mysterious, so charming
• whaaaaaat he's got a bloody knife whaaaaaaaat
• "I'm gonna wait for that sentence to come around again before I jump on."
• "Guys, guess what happened!" // "Buffy got a date!" // "No, *I* did!"
• I will say the banter is pretty good this episode. Y'know except for the Chao-Ahn hahaha she doesn't speak English hahaha (seriously fuck this "running gag") "She's grateful to be in the land of plenty." fuuuuuuuuuuuuck yoooooooooou and your imperialism.
• Danny Strong is awesome as The First. I'm glad he's back.
• "Confidentially, a lot of her people are murderers. Anya and Willow and Spike." And Giles. And Xander. Basically only Dawn isn't. Wait, does Miss Kitty Fantastico's demise count as murder?
• Buffy being all blushy and smiley with Wood is really kind of adorable.
• At least the show acknowledges what a bad counselor Buffy is.
• Gasp! Wood's mother was a Slayer.
• It's such an interesting revelation for Buffy - not just Wood as a potential romantic partner, but that having a child is not unprecedent in the Slayer line - another aspect of that "normal life" she used to long for, could actually be an option if she wants it.
• "Say, do you have any weaknesses I should know about?" Andrew is not a good spy.
• This episode really hammers in how impotent ["Flaccid?" - Buffy] The First is at accomplishing anything. Relying on Andrew? Really? No wonder they brought in Nathan Fillion. This realization hit the writers too late in the season.
• Ashanti is not good at this whole speaking lines thing.
• okayyyy so. I think this is just a small error, but Wood saying "he's a vampire" with surprise in his voice when Spike vamps out - in the earlier scene in the car, it looks like he's looking in his rearview mirror to where Spike should be - Spike who has no reflection. So ... he should already know that. oops. (shenanigans)

I'm not wrong, right? He's looking at Spike.

• Even Wood is noticing how Spuffy season seven is.
• Xander: "So how's your date going?" // Buffy: *looks at Wood* // Wood: *looks at Spike* //Spike:

• Oh good one last hahahalanguagebarrierhahaha
• So is Clem canonically gay?
• "quips about orientation"
• spuffysceeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeene. "'Cause I'm not ready for you to not be here."

my shipppppppppppppppppp

• "Did I raise you that way?" // "You didn't raise me at all." // "Well, I was dead." this scene is just marvelous
• so they did recast Nikki but apparently they only hired a stunt actor to play her in "Fool For Love," and they cast an actor-actor to play her here.

Daniel's Thoughts:

• Nice catch, Giles!  He’s got expert reflexes.
• Yes, Giles – speak louder – Chao-Ahn will be able to understand English then.
• SHENANIGANS.  When exactly would Anya tell Spike that Giles may be the First?  He and Buffy were gone when they were talking about it and they solved the problem by the time Spike  & Buffy got back.
• See Chao-Ahn not understanding anything anyone is saying is played for laughs….except how incredibly scary for her.  To be in this strange situation with vampires etc, and still not knowing anything that’s going on. 
• Oh man, guest starring the worst guest star ever: Ashanti.
• Giles’ fears about Spike are so valid but who cares? He's only been your mentor for 6ish years.
• Oh man, DB Woodside is so good at comedy.  I’m pretty sure I’ve said that before and I’ll say it again: DB Woodside is so good at comedy.
• See, Even Willow knows Buffy is bad at her (school) job.
• “A bidet of evil”
• I enjoy Willow/Buffy/Xander just chatting and joking.  It’s nice.
• Hey Danny Strong.  I just saw him in an episode of Girls , which – I really wish I hadn’t because he was one of those straight guys who play gay by being overly flamboyant and effeminate when Danny Strong is effeminate enough already.  Anyway.  End of sidebar.
• NO ANYA.  WHERE IS ANYA. WTF.
• Oh there, she is.  20 minute later.
• I like Anya’s cute mid-driffy sweater.

• “Hardware-store whore” – aww, Anya.  She really needs a date.
• Man this alley set is such a set. 
• Wow, Wood’s a pretty good fighter.
• Really?  Can we not bring up Xander leaving Anya at the altar only to justify and excuse his behavior?  Fuck off, Ashanti & Xander & writers.
• That’s the 2^nd time this episode that someone laughs at Buffy about being a counselor.
• It’s really cool to find out history of another slayer and to find out that she had a child which Buffy thought would never be possible for her.
• Nice detective work, Andrew.  But it’s kinda cool that he went to the scoobies right away about the first visiting him.
• Good make-up on dead Jonathan-first
• Omg, she’s so bad (ashanti)
• Aww, Anya still cares about Xander.  I mean, we knew that.  But I had so much hope back in the day.
• “There isn’t time for… quips about orientation.” Ugh. I want to laugh about that….if everything I didn’t see in the 90s/00s were just jokes about being gay.
• Wood’s got a nice apartment. It kinda reminds me of Angel’s apartment in that show he’s in about himself.  I think it’s called “That Vampire with the goofy hair: The series”
• Nice reveal about Spike/Wood’s slayer mom.

Favorite Lines:

Z: "Guys, guess what happened!" // "Buffy got a date!" // "No, *I* did!" - Xander/Willow

D: "Fine, go. Leave me here to stew in my impotent rage." *Buffy stops, turns to look at Anya* "I'm also gonna pee,  so you should probably go." -Anya

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

First appearance: Chao-Ahn

Recurring: Giles, Robson, Kennedy, Amanda, Principal Wood, The First (as Jonathan Levinson and Nikki Wood), Espresso Pump, Giles's terrible artistic skills, Seal of Danzalthar, Xander as a demon magnet

In "Potential," Andrew wanted a new microwave and now he's got one! (Also, this is the same microwave that got destroyed in "Conversations With Dead People")

The shirt Anya's cleaning - "it might be pizza" - is the one Dawn spilled on during "Conversations With Dead People"

Stats:

Anya's Hair - curly, dark blonde

Dead Humans - 0

Dead Undeads - 7

Dead Potential - 0

Dead Flashbacks - 0

Giles Unconscious - 0

Giles Cleans His Glasses - 1

Buffy Breaks a Door - 0

Evil Reveal - 1 (LissAshanti)

Unevil Reveal - 1 (Principal Wood)

Shenanigans Called - 2

Apocalypse Called - 0

A Perfectly Reasonable and Not At All Insane Explanation

Episode 7.13: The Killer in Me. Original Airdate 2.4.03

"After Willow and Kennedy share their first kiss, Willow is transformed into Warren, the man she killed last year. When she sets out to find help, she bumps into an old friend. Meanwhile, Buffy searches for answers when Spike's chip causes him great pain, and the gang suspect that Giles may really be The First."

Daniel's Thoughts:

• And now, the metaphor episode
• Hey Giles!
• Oh man, all this awful set up of Giles not touching anything – like Xander opening the door for him and Dawn being instructed to take a book out to the car for him.
• Wait, why is Spike chained up now when he was loose the entire last episode?
• They’re trying to explain it away but really, it’s just all about Spike and they want to feature him as much as possible.  Fuck everyone else who has been there from the beginning.
• “I never realized how compact Mollie was.”
• Oh hey, something else is happening to Spike now.  BECAUSE HE DOESN’T HAVE ENOUGH PLOTS.  What’s Anya up to?
• “Remember when things were nice and boring?”  You mean like now?
• Isn’t it nice that they made the only lesbian old enough to date Willow?
• To be fair, it’s nice having a lesbian who isn’t all weird and confused as Willow.   ....like a confident Tara.
• It’s also sad that “flirting in code” is how lesbians (and gay men) have to find each other out – in 2003.  Like, you can’t just be open about who you are.  You have to be careful and secretive because god forbid you offend the sensibilities of the poor straight people.
• Aww, Willow’s talking about her mom that we’ve met once.
• Oh hey, Spike’s now unchained.  What are the rules here?
• Willow doesn’t like Italian food?  What kind of monster
• The thing is – she just killed someone for killing the love of her life.  She nearly destroyed the world because Tara died….why does she need a love interest so soon?  What about Xander? What about Anya?
• And now: METAPHOR
• And I mean in a way they’re dealing with it in this episode….it’s all about Willow’s guilt, blah blah blah…but they solve it in this episode like some weird hour long sitcom
• Adam Busch does a pretty good Willow impression. It’s cute.

It's all in the upward inflection.

• Willow:  I’ll go, I'll handle it – you’ve got your hands full anyway [with Spike]– pretty much the mantra of season 7.  – We’re too busy with Spike to help anyone else.
• “When Robson came to, no Giles” – but also no blood I guess?  So….
• Tom Lenk is funny, Andrew is a pain.  It’s a fine line.
• I mean, in all that time – they’ve never seen Giles eat?  Cause that’s corporeal touching.
• Hey, the Wicca group on campus is actually doing magic.
• I do like the throw-back to the bake sales.
• Uh oh…..Willow’s turning into Warren…
• Eww, three years of decay is a lot (In the Initiative’s compound)
• I love Xander’s subtle offended face tick to Anya calling him a geek.  Rare nice work by Nick.
• Oooh, Big bad Amy
• “Same model as last time?”  Wow, the gun seller remembers a weapon he sold last year? [These things? Never useful. - Buffy]
• Buffy’s “I knew it!”  So cute.
• “Ass face”  Yes, that is what I call Spike, too.
• Repair the chip or remove the chip….big decision for Buffy….or is it?  I know which one I’d pick
• I really like Elizabeth Anne Allen – it’s a shame she hasn’t had much work since Buffy.
• 2003 – that transition between Warren and Willow while kissing Kennedy would be so much better today.  It was such a crappy cutaway shot.

Zelda's Thoughts: 

• Ugh can we just like skip this one? Please?
• Except for that one bit where they tackle Giles because his face is hilarious.
• Giles: "would you mind running it out to the car" LOOK THE WRITERS ARE TROLLING US AGAIN.
• uh oh SMG is losing her voice. I forgot it started this early. She stays sick for a while.
• "Apparently, someone told them that the vision quest consists of me driving them to the desert, doing the Hokey Pokey until a 'spooky rasta mama Slayer' arrives and speaks to them in riddles."
• Oh I forgot the chip stuff was this episode. Oops. Poor Spike's brain.
• "Remember when things used to be nice and boring?" "No."
• "Who you gonna call? ... god, that phrase is never gonna be useable again, is it?"
• Oh hey shoutout to Willow's neglectful mother.
• Oh Willow is me. She turns off Moulin Rouge early so it has a happy ending.
• lol I do love that Buffy sees Warren and immediately punches. Good instincts, B.
• "There are other stories from kindergarten, non-yellow-crayon stories in which you don't come out in such a good light." snort
• How come Warren-Willow is in a different outfit than Willow?
• I really don't like all the Spike-having-a-seizure as comedic background action to the other stuff. It's a cheap move, and a belittling of something potentially fatal. It's not comic relief. Calling him Ass-face is comic relief.
• So ... I guess they didn't fill The Initiative's compound with cement and salt the earth after all? I guess we can headcanon that that was a figure of speech and they were lazy. But seriously, this place is not well sealed.
• At least the show is finally dealing with Is Giles Dead Or Not question. But still, fuck the writers. This isn't like the misdirect of Spike going to "Africa" on his bike to get a soul. This is trolling.

• Sooooo if the comics are canon, that means Amy's got Skinless Warren stashed somewhere already, right? She magicked him away and kept him from dying (which ruins the Warren as The First bits this season oooooops. stupid comics)
• gasp! Warren's personality is taking over Willow! It's not just looking him anymore.
• Wow it's not just that they didn't cement the compound, they left corpses to rot. You'd think a covert government op would be ... tidier about its cover-up.
• "Oops." I guess Amy doesn't get to have character development after all. It just seems ... idk kind of lazy, to have Amy have set this trap for her. Why?

the only part of the episode I actively like is Giles's face
 as he's tackled. look at his cartoon eyes!

• "I assume there is a perfectly reasonable and not at all insane explanation for this."
• "We're to provide anything you need to help Ass-face here. Those were his exact words, ma'am."
• blah I think it's dumb to leave it as a cliffhanger of Buffy deciding whether or not to fix or remove Spike's chip. Where's the dilemma? The chip doesn't work when he's under The First's thrall, so it's not a prevention for that, and he has his soul now. She trusts Spike more than he trusts himself, not to be evil. That was the whole point of their scene in the basement earlier, when he's insisting on being chained while in the house, and she thinks it's unnecessary. It's stupid. It's mortal and it's stupid.
• Amy's twirling her evil mustache and it just doesn't feel real and organic.
• And her explanation is da-da-dumb. "She almost destroyed the world, and yet everyone keeps on loving her." This power and being-loved resentment line works way better in Faith's hands.
• Warren-Willow and Willow aren't holding the gun in the same way ... they also aren't in the same emotional place. Sometimes the actors are good at matching each other on delivery (and manner) and sometimes ... it falls apart.
• Alyson is doing good work though. "I let her go. I didn't mean to. ... I let her be dead."
• Wish I liked Kennedy more. Wish I liked Iyari Limon more. Wish I liked this episode more.

Favorite Lines:

D: Anya: Just a teenager, a powerful former demon and two big geeks.  *Xander looks mildy hurt*

Z: "Oh, is this actually a flower shop, or is this one of those things where I'm supposed to play along to show that I know it's really secret ops? Oh, maybe I shouldn't have said that." - Buffy

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

• Recurring: Giles, Kennedy, The Bronze (because we miss it), Warren, Andrew, Amy, The Initiative (or what it's become)
• Shoutout to Buffy's vision quest in "Intervention"
• All the Shoutouts to "Seeing Red"
• The Sunnydale University Wicca group still participates in bake sales

Stats:

Anya's Hair - dark blonde, shoulder length, straight

Dead Humans - 0

Dead Undeads - 1

Dead Potentials - 0

Not Dead Giles - 1

Dead Flashbacks - 0

Giles Unconscious - 0

Giles Cleans His Glasses - 0

Buffy Breaks a Door - 0

Evil Reveal - 1 (Amy)

Unevil Reveal - 1 (Giles Isn't The First)

Shenanigans Called - 0

Apocalypse Called - 0

Like Being Swallowed. By Something Larger.

Episode 7.12: Potential. Original Airdate 1.21.03  

"Buffy takes the Potentials to a demon bar and then to Spike's crypt, in order to teach them the art of slaying. When Willow casts a spell to seek out the next Potential, the spell leads them to believe that Dawn may be a future slayer."

Special Note: We apologize for the huge hiatus: Holidays, vacations and other commitments kept us busy, and probably the thought of continuing season 7 felt a bit daunting as well...so...HERE WE GO:

Zelda's Thoughts: 

• God, I've completely forgotten how to do this. Um. Hi. Yay Buffy!
• Starting in a graveyard is a good throwback to early Buffy.
• But gasp! They're fighting Spike! Gasp gasp! He's training them.
• Aw I love Felicia Day.

• "Don't fight on his terms. Your gut's telling you to run, run."
• "He needs to kill to live. That tells you everything you need to know."
• Buffy and Spike have A Moment. // Daniel: ugh. // Me: MY SHIP. // Potentials: That's hot. So we're supposed to make out with them or something?
• Sigh. The beginning of Buffy's less fun speeches. Buffy as Teacher/General gets a lot of hate in the fandom, and I get it because she's not as fun and quippy as teen Buffy was, but she's basically forced into this position by everyone around her, and she has to feel her way. She goes into full detachment mode in order to fill the role. It makes her less approachable, but she's trying to do what needs to be done.
• Yay it's Amanda! Hi again, Amanda.
• Buffy is the worst counselor you guys. Stop "humorously" projecting your Spike baggage onto poor Amanda.
• "Wait, the seers couldn't find out her name or, like, her address or anything? Am I getting the definition of seer wrong?"
• Dawn snarking at the Potentials is way more fun than self-pity Dawn.
• "He's not evil, but when he gets close to it, he picks up its flavor, like a mushroom or something." Accurate.
• I wish MT were a better actress. Or at least a funny one.
• And then there's Emma Caulfield, whose delivery of "Oh look pretty" is amazing.
• Ugh they're still talking about the line of succession as if it goes into effect when Buffy dies. The succession line has moved onto Faith. This is never going to not bother me, the clumsiness of the writers on this score. It just leads to stupid back and forth in the fandom.
• "Well, it's almost like this metaphor for womanhood, isn't it?" Hey look Andrew just named Joss's thesis for the genesis of this. #tbt to when Buffy got menstrual cramps whenever a vamp was near in the film.
• Props to Xander for standing up for Dawn when the others are kind of (uncharacteristically?) dumping on her. Set up for his speech at the end of the episode.
• Aw it's Clem, you guys! And apparently his face opens up in weirdass ways.

• The Potentials all ship #Spuffy. Poor Daniel. [*sigh* - D]
• "It takes just one vampire to kill you." Bit of a callback to "Fool For Love"?
• Dawn failing to break the flagpole over her leg. Oops.
• And now there are Bringers.
• Aw, Dawn's realization. "You don't want her. You want me." Except they don't.
• Dawn handing over the power and the weapon to Amanda - Xander's right, it's the most adult gesture we've seen from her.
• And now we get to feel the feels, as Xander reminds Dawn he knows what it's like to not be Special, and that she herself is extraordinary.

Gross if you know what happens later...

Daniel's Thoughts:

• Wow, we’re on season 7 still right?  Right.
• Ok, we start with two potentials, Vi & Rona – one ok, one totally annoying. Any episode that starts with potentials instead of regulars can’t be good, right?
• Oh hey, they’re tracking Spike. 
• I mean, in a way Rona’s kinda right – they don’t have the slayer powers that Buffy has….but neither do Willow/Xander/Anya….  And also to be fair, it’s a miracle that Willow, Xander and Anya aren’t dead yet...
• Ugh, all the Spuffy stuff, I just can’t.
• Ugh, Does Buffy practice these speeches?  Where do they come from?  What is going on?  Why does Buffy have a slayer professor tenure [Maybe you get it automatically if you survive the cruciamentum. - Z]
• Oh hey, an Anya mention.  She has resources.  But let’s continue to concentrate on the extras...
• Hahah Chaka Kahn.
• Omg, the 2003ness of the potentials outfits.
• And Dawn is all sad face because she feels left out.
• Hey, Amanda!
• Buffy is a terrible guidance counselor…it’s almost as if she has no credentials.
• “Sometimes that’s how people relate – being mean to each other.” – that’s a terrible feminist lesson, Buffy. 
• “Hey, everybody look – it’s Willow….”  - 10-15 minutes into the episode.
• So the seers see someone in Sunnydale who is a potential but don’t know where/who…why isn't it just assumed that they're just sensing the potentials already in Buffy’s house?
• WHY IS ANDREW IN THE SCOOBY MEETING?
• “I like to feel the wood in my hand” Kennedy: “lost me there” THAT IS A HINT THAT I AM A LESBIAN.  IT IS VERY VERY SUBTLE – DID YOU GET IT?
• How awkward that Andrew and Willow sitting at the same dinner table… you know, with his best friend killing her girlfriend and her killing his best friend and stuff?
• But let’s put all that aside.
• Oh hey, Anya is sitting with everyone but has said nothing.
• It’s actually really kinda sad that her hopes are built up that much.
• Shut up, Andrew.  We have all the funny we need from Anya.
• Im glad we’re concentrating on the scoobies right now and not so much the potentials.
• Now of course, Dawn is going to prove...that she’s stupid…and run away.  Because that always works out.
• “It’s a demon bar…like gay bar…but for demons”  Great comparison, Vi.  Maybe it’s like a straight bar…but for demons?  Why is ‘gay’ always the stepping stone for something. Like the conservative argument about marrying animals if we make gay marriage legal….like again…why is “gay” that stepping stone?  Why does it go straight – gay – ANIMALS.  Or  straight  - gay – DEMONS.  Fuck off.  Ok, I’m off my soap box.
• I love that Clem can do the Beetlegeuse thing.   Nice reference.

• I love when they play up the awkward klutziness of Dawn.  She thinks she’s a potential but she can’t even climb into a window.
• Amanda’s twisted. I love it.
• So Dawn…you’re really that stupid? Go in search of a vamp without any weapons? 
• I mean it might not be a bad episode if pretty much every episode wasn't like this….season 7 is just so damn repetitive. We keep asking ourselves…which one is this again?
• Yeah, I don’t know if I agree with this teaching, Buffy….just throwing them into mortal danger.
• Dawn, pretty much: “the bringers are going to kill Amanda…that means I’m not a potential….how sad…for me…” 
• Nice, job Amanda!
• 2 minutes on the job and she did much better than the rest of the potentials put together.
• To be fair, as soon as she realizes that Amanda is the potential, she gets all Buffy-Speech-Professor and encourages Amanda.   So that’s cool, I guess.
• Oh no, is this the Xander, you’re extraordinary speech to Dawn? Cause I don’t care.

Favorite Lines:

Z: "Seven years, Dawn. Working with the Slayer. Seeing my friends get more and more powerful ... I saw what you did last night. You thought you were all special - Miss Sunnydale 2003. And the minute you found out you weren't you handed the crown to Amanda without a moment's pause. You gave her your power. They'll never know how tough it is, Dawnie, to be the one who isn't chosen. To live so near the spotlight and never step into it. But I know. I see more than anybody realizes because nobody's watching me. I saw you last night. I see you working here today. You're not special. You're extraordinary." - Xander
D: "One second you're just a klutzy teenager with fake memories and a history of kleptomania and now suddenly you're a hero! A hero with a much abbreviated life span!" - Anya 

Arc/Continuity Stuff:

Recurring: Rona, Vi, Molly, Kennedy, Buffy's job as counselor, Amanda, Andrew, the demon bar (is it still Willy's place?), Clem, Bringers

Stats:

Anya's Hair - dark blonde, shoulder length, straight
Dead Humans - 0
Dead Undeads - 5
Dead Potentials - 0
Dead Flashbacks - 0
Giles Unconscious - 0
Giles Cleans His Glasses - 0
Buffy Breaks a Door - 0
Buffy Makes A Speech - 1
Evil Reveal - 0
Unevil Reveal - 0
Shenanigans Called - 0
Apocalypse Called - 0