Well, everyone has tough times.
And I’m with pepperlandgirl on the Buffy/Spike straddling scene. Dinsdale, you seem to be in a bad mood today.
My local UPN affiliate stepped on the episode not once but twice. Apparantly showing the same frickin’ ad twice for the RV show is more important than actually showing the program in its entirety. So could someone please tell me How Dawn and Amanda got out of the classroom and how Buffy and Xander knew to go to the school?
I also wonder why it is, if Amanda was headed to Buffy’s house when she got balled (you know, by the orange ball of magic light), that she turned around and walked away then turned around again and headed back (when she ran into Dawn). All the while neglecting to mention “yeah I was at your door before and got hit by this ball of orange light.” That struck me as really sloppy writing.
Glad to know I wasn’t the only one who yelled “CLEM!” real loud when he appeared on screen.
I am very disapointed with this season. It’s the last year and they are filling up the time with Dawn and the Slayers-in-training. If this is the season for Buffy I would like to see some Buffy issues. All she is doing now is lecturing. I go to school all day, I don’t want to come home and hear more lecturing on my television set. grrrrr.
I thought it was pretty clear that Spike didn’t want Buffy’s hands up his shirt not because of the runes, but because Buffy is hot and also straddling him. He’s never stopped loving/lusting after her, and I think he was just trying to minimize the impact of their position. Especially in front of the Slayerettes.
I liked the episode very much, but when in the hell is Dawn going to get a brain? Taking a walk by herself? Not bringing anything in the way of a weapon, not even to the school to kill a captive vamp? It all seemed so stupid on her part that it made the whole sequence of events seem really, really contrived. But for all that, the scenes with Buffy and the girls, and Spike, and Clem, and the line about Buffy being thought “a high-functioning schizophrenic” made it all more than worthwhile.
While I’m at it, I thought I’d throw in a comment about something pepperlandgirl brought up a while ago, in another thread (sorry). She said that UPN loses $1 million on every Buffy episode. I talked to some other people about that, and they agree that yes, UPN does lose that much, but that’s fine, because networks don’t make money off of first-run shows. NBC, for example, loses WAY more money than that on each new episode of Friends. Money is made when the shows are repeats, or go into syndication. So, overall, UPN is making a profit off of *Buffy, just not a profit off of the new episodes.
I guess that happens when one of the few shows I look forward to watching serves up a crappy episode. 
And, in case you forget, I consider Dawn worthless.
I agree A LOT with sb2u. If this is as good as it gets, I guess it might as well get cancelled.
Otto - as the vamp was closing in, the Bringers burst in. Predictably, Dawn rsponded to this development by whining. Then - and I’m not sure how - she ignited the gas jets she had previously turned on. And I guess gas explosions only damge vamps and Bringers.
Why did the do-rag vamp always have that maniacal grin on his face - and hold his hands so stiffly. Did he perhaps have some ubervamp in him?
Willow said she would do a locator spell to find - I guess - the SIT - which she assumed was Dawn. But they did not show the spell or any statement along the lines of “They’re in the school.” I, for one, asked, “Who’s that?” when I first glimpsed Xander at the foot of the stairs.
And - yes - the Amanda “misdirection” was extremely sloppy.
Sorry you feel that way. I’ve never been a fan of Dawn (I recall screaming for blood the last two seasons) but I don’t think she was any worse last night than any other time.
Again, I really liked it, but you can’t get everyone to like everything.
In fairness to Dawn, you should recall she’s not very old. While the monks did a great job with her phony memories and all, it’s not remotely unbelievable to imagine that there were holes in her learning and experience that wouldn’t exist for an actual junior-high student who had lived all fifteen or sixteen years.
And I’m with Sua - and Joss - in pointing out that Buffy’s first death caused Kendra to be called. Kendra’s death caused Faith to be called. Buffy can die again and again without a new Slayer being called; only Faith’s death will ring that particular bell.
Finally, if Kennedy knows about Willow’s orientation, then she presumably also knows that who Tara is, and how recently she died, and I think hitting on Willow under those circumstances is a bit creepy. If she doesn’t know, of course, and is just rolling dice or has an exceptional gaydar working, then I withdraw the criticism.
- Rick
Uh…I don’t know how much this is a spoiler, so I’ll put in the spoiler box. It’s about Kenned.
She makes her intentions known, very, very, very clearly, next episode.
I’ve completely lost track of time in this series, what with the summer and the lapsing and all. Roughly how long has it been for Willow since Tara died?
The Buffyverse operates roughly on real time, so it’s been what, 9 months since Tara died?
Ethilrist:
It’s unclear precisely how much time Willow spent in England with the “coven”, but I think it’s safe to say that less than two months have passed between the events at the end of season six, most notably Tara dying in Willow’s arms, and Willow attempting to destroy the world as a result.
- Rick
How do you figure we’re looking at real time here, Otto?
No, Bricker, they do pretty much work on real time. Tara died in May. Willow spent all summer with the Coven, and (based on the time schedule of Dawn entering HS) came back early September. Based on BOTN (and decorating the rubble) they are in either Decemeber or early January. Of course, the time is all screwy on BtVS right now because CwDP had a timestamp for Nov 12 (I think) and CwDP, Sleeper, NLM all happened in roughly the same 24-48 period but in BoTN, she mentioned how she didn’t even realize it was almost Christmas. Of course, Noxon wrote that ep, and I don’t think she’s ever even heard the word “continuity” so I don’t give that much thought.
At any rate, based on what they’re giving us, Tara has been dead for at least 7 months.
Good point re: Dawn entering high school, which does lock down Willow’s return as Septemberish.
Based on that, I guess it’s not as creepy as I thought to hit on Willow. She has every right to be still grieving, of course, but nine months isn’t outside the bounds of decency.
The one remaining squick I have with this, then, is Kennedy’s age. Buffy was called when she was fourteen or fifteen. (Three seasons, three years, to graduate, plus the fourth year or fraction thereof when the events in the original movie take place)
It’s unclear to me how old the SIWs are in general, and Kennedy in particular, but if Kennedy is a high-schooler, while it’s not wrong of her to take a shot, it would be wrong of Willow to return the attention - not that she has as yet, of course.
- Rick
Kennedy is 19. I don’t know if that is ever mentioned on the show, or will be mentioned, but she’s the oldest SiT and the casting call specified she was 19. Which means she’s probably only 18-24 months younger than Willow.
Speaking of age, I was completely taken aback to find out that James Marsters (Spike) is 40 years old. Good God!
As to this episode, I hated it for 50 minutes, but found redemption in the end. Dawn’s melodrama and complete and utter stupidity wore me down. A great cheer went up in the Hamlet household when Clem showed up, but went away again with the tedious Rah! Rah! speeches and the whiny, weekling SITs. And, as an aside, I’m going to start taking up a collection to feed the actors in the show, for Clem’s sake do we really need another skinny-as-a-rail girl on the show? I love her personality, but I’ve seen more meek in the Feed the Children commercials. It’s making me ill.
But all that bitterness and worry went away when Xander gave his closing speech. It was moving, without being preachy, and heartfelt without being melodramatic. Go Xander!
“meat” not meek. Grrrr.
LOL, I know people who wouldn’t believe that until we produced a birth certificate…
Holy shit, Hamlet, I would not have guessed that at all! :eek:
As far as the whole “But Joss said it and that’s what I think” on the Slayer line, the Mayor—who was not unhip to the occult, you might understand—informed Faith and Angel (when Angel was doing that whole 45 minutes of undercover work in Season 3) that it would be for the best not to kill Buffy because he didn’t need another Slayer in SunnyD because they couldn’t all be like his Faith.
Food for thought.
The Mayor may have had a passing familiarity with the occult, but given his ultimate demise, I think it’s safe to say that mastery of all the aspects of Slayers ultimately eluded him. We can thus safely discount the predictions he made about Slayer Calldom.
Indeed, what better evidence do we need than the facts? Buffy’s first death produced Kendra. Buffy’s second death did not produce another Slayer. Kendra’s first (and only) death produced Faith. Ipso facto, ipse dixit, and pass the salt.
- Rick