Dawn? Petulant? Say it ain’t so!
But GH, she’d been behaving much less like a brat this season, apparently having come to realize that despite once having been the glowing green shit of the universe she’s now a young woman who needs to grow up. She seemed like she’d been making strides in that direction with Buffy’s help and had also been trying on the occasional badass outfit (i.e. “you hurt my sister, you’ll wake up on fire.”) The scene where she’s wanting to pound on Andrew started of funny but the “Anya gets to hit him” line tilted it too far in the whine direction.
I don’t see how Buffy could not believe Principal Wood was somehow involved with or connected to the devil seal in some way. He was carrying a shovel, and covered in dirt, for crying out loud. And he seemed vaguely possessed by something; i.e. a little out of it. His mystery speech gave me the creeps, though. I really like his character.
There was one point in the episode where I thought the score was reminiscent of “Restless,” and immediately made me think of the First Slayer, but I can’t remember where that point was. Perhaps it was during one of the Joyce visitations. I had to turn the sound down low again because I was afraid her eyes would turn white. But I agree, bring the First Slayer back! The cheese guy, too. I’m also a little iffy on Giles’s assertion that because the First Evil predates language and all that the Watcher’s Council had no resources on it. Sounds like a prime thesis topic for a new class of Watchers.
Did anyone else get major Terminator vibes when Buffy and the vampire were fighting in the warehouse/industrial area? She seemed to be channeling Linda Hamilton, right down to the limp.
Spot on, JP. I knew that Ubervamp would end up being squished. I was right, too.
You see, the box was flush with the ground. That means that UV was paste, and another UV just happened to be scuttling around in the tunnels underneath the factory.
My impression of the “dying out of the Slayer line” isn’t that the Slayers will be entirely gone, it’s that the structure for them will be. Apparently the Watchers keep the half dozen potential slayers around waiting for a calling, but if the Watchers are gone and all the potentials are dead then there’s no one to locate the new Slayer and get them to fight.
My question is: why hasn’t anyone started taking out Pre-Slayers before this, like back in medieval times when the good were less organized? Does the level of Evil’s organization go along with man’s technological level? Is TFE the only one with a huge organization?
Also, I reasoned that the reason the super-vamp was whomping the bejeebers out of Buffy was that it simply was better at fighting than her. Glory was stronger, but wasn’t used to fighing, being a god and all. Superior strength is no good if you don’t know how to use it. The ur-vamp was a “normal” monster, and so probably has to fight a LOT to stay alive. That, and cause it liked to. I don’t think they should have given it claws, though. Too hard to make a believeable fist when you have talons.
It makes sense to me that the Watchers would have some way of identifying potential Slayers, since there really isn’t any other good explanation for how Kendra and Faith (especially Kendra) were brought up to speed so quickly. It doesn’t explain how Buffy slipped through the cracks, i.e. why she wasn’t identified as a potential Slayer before 1996.
As to the is it or isn’t it Giles debate, I’m leaning towards it is because: a) the First has not been previously seen to be able to appear as one thing to a lot of different people. Doesn’t mean it can’t, but it would be a new wrinkle; b) the glasses thing; c) Giles does lean on furniture at various points, which could simply be a pose, but is a very human thing to do; and d) the First has been going around picking off the Slayers and potentials one at a time before now and been pretty successful at it. Why change tactics now?
Hmph to not having UPN at home. <beat beat beat beat>
For me, the deciding factor is that he directly contradicts Joyce.
Remember, great stock is placed in Buffy’s dreams.
IMHO: In Conversations with Dead People, Joyce + evil demon conjured by failed attempt at ressurection made it back to the land of the living. Dawn tore up EDCbFAaR, and got a (real)message from her mom. Remember, something slapped Dawn around, tore up the house, etc., and TFE can’t do any of that. So, Joyce is still metaporically hanging around enough for Buffy’s prophetic dreams to pick up on her.
What if, during the battle with the harbingers or the explosion, Giles was critically injured? His breathing, heart ect stop for a few minutes or so. Then, an ambulance gets to the scene and the EMT’s resucsitate him. If that had happened, Morphy could impersonate Giles. It’s even possible that Giles is actually in a hospital bed in England, while Morphy masquerades as him.
RE-the Ur Vamp
I cannot understand why Buffy didn’t arm herself. After the first fight, she knows that staking won’t work. Giles says that sunlight will. What about decapitation? Fire? Holy water? Crosses? Etc. Clearly this thing is vulnerable to something. Something wiped them all out. IMHO it would have made more sense, and have been more in line with Buffy’s personality(she’s changed from whiny cheerleader to a true warrior over the years), if they’d included a scene where Buffy keeps pulling out different weapons and using them on the UV.
Buffy pull a gleaming dagger from a sheath. After a few maneuvers, she gets under the UV’s guard and stabs it in the heart. The UV pulls the dagger out and tosses it away. Buffy says “Silver-doesn’t work”. She pulls out a spiked piece of railing ‘Let’s see what iron does.’ etc
Re-Principal
Buffy has to suspect that he’s involved somehow. When the two groups met in the basement, I honestly expected Buffy to look at his shovel and say "We’ll believe your flimsy excuse if you’ll believe ours.’
Just confront the man! The eve of the apocalypse is not the time to keep quiet because the principal might be an ordinary guy who’ll think that you’re insane.
Re-The Pentagram
I can’t believe they covered it up. My WAG is that they’ll either end up frantically trying to find, and re-excavate it while UV, harbingers and such attack them. Or, it will turn out that re-burying the pentagram completes some other ritual- ‘After the seal is opened, the nacham (or whatever the UV’s race was called) can roam the earth for 3 days. After that, the seal shall open, draw him back and trap him again. The seal can only be kept shut if it is buried by those pure of heart, acting of their own free will.’
I have an answer to this, but I honestly don’t know if it came out in this episode, or if it’s a spoiler, so I’m putting it in the spoiler box.
There is a weakness in the Slayer line, and now is the perfect time to strike.
I’ve heard of Giles acting strangely for several weeks now. The shooting script for ep 10 specifies that he isn’t to touch anything. So, I’ve been worried about the Giles and the state of head (whether or not it’s attatched to his body) for a long time now. The more I think about it, the more I think that it is an elaborate fake-out and that Giles is just Giles.
Kendra was given to her watcher as a small child. Her people considered it a great honor. Both and Faith and Buffy fell through the cracks…they weren’t identified until they were called. Apparently, there is a system, but it doesn’t work 100% of the time.
For more info about slayers that is vaguely spoilery, but not a lot
There is a spell that you can use to trace Potential Slayers.
Damn, you’re good Doc. Let’s see if we can get you on the writing team.
Love the “flimsy excuse” line. And the trial and error slayage. And the effects of reburying the sign.
Mass smilie posts hog bandwidth and are discouraged. But, multiply 
about a hundred times and you’ll get the idea. I’m very flattered. Thank you.
Just glad to spead a little joy this time of year.
May the First Evil Devour you.
Hmmm
The First Evil can appear as Drusila.
"From beneath you, it devours."
mmmmmmmmmm
I’d like to give props to SMG, btw. Normally her acting, particularly when she’s got to play big emotion, drives me right up a wall. I never believe her for a second.
This episode was a huge, huge improvement. She was much more believable, far less actor-y, just a huge change from her usual stuff. I hope she keeps it up.
Bloody hell. I thought there were no new eps until Jan.
DAMN IT DAMN IT DAMN IT!!!
This is just pure spculation on my part, but how do we truly know that TFE can only appear as someone dead. I mean, the only person to say this was Giles, and if he is TFE, then why should we believe it.
Another point, if he was TFE, why would he tell them this fairly important point. I mean, if I were TFE, I would find it much more entertaining to watch them all get paranoid because they were never sure if they were talking to their actual friends or to TFE.
It eats you starting with your bottom.
Because giving people the truth gains their trust. Then at a crucial moment, feed them disinformation. Why just confuse your enemies when you can destroy them?
And don’t forget the file. Unless Morphy had an agent plant the file, it contains accurate information on the First Evil. If the slayette brought the real file, MorphyGiles would have to be truthful about its contents. Otherwise, it would be exposed.
Re-Willow And Possible New Love Interest
At what point did Willow become strictly lesbian? It was Vamp Willow’s arrival that first hinted that Willow was not hetero. But, Vamp Willow was bisexual. When Willow began her relationship with Tara I thought it was due to her realising that she likes men and women. Later (talking to Xander at his wedding, describing the snake thingy she fought at DoubleMeat) she speaks as though she is only attracted to women. Did I miss an explanation for this or did the writers just change their minds?
If Willow is a lesbian how are she and Xander, the boy she's known since pre-school, the boy who does the Snoopy dance for her every Christmas, ever going to realize they're in love and live happily ever after? I've wanted that to happen since Xander first dated Cordy.