khieng

I thought he was confused because he didn't expect him to turn back human. But you can be right too. We'll see in the next episodes.


Hmmm... interesting assumption. I was wondering how he knew about Buffy's dream. She looked a bit surprised when he said it too.

dolphinboy

Glad that others thought that was some kind of reference to Alias. I don't watch the show either and was fearful of getting reamed if I posted it here. But I guess others saw it as well.

I love the show. I miss Willow and I'm preparing for some serious crying when she comes back. I think great things are gonna happen this season, but I sure wouldn't consider the show to be as happy and light as I read that it would be.

It's been pretty heavy stuff so far. But in a good way.

zero

I thought it resembled Run Lola Run myself.

movieking

Ditto here. Girl with red hair running in Germany. Run Lola Run came to my mind right away.

Doug Heffernan

OK, I may have been wrong about Spike

I usually am the one saying "great episode" when others don't - but I have to say I thought this one was very choppy. The High School.....the Worm...Spike's confession.... It really didn't have a flow to it at all. I thought Spike's final speech could have been better, and the whole worm thing was very lame.

Last ep. I said Dawn didn't annoy me, this time she did (just like the old days) especially when she got in Buffy's face over not telling her about seeing Spike.

Oh, well - there is always next week!

I agree.

superstringtheory

Oh, unmistakably a Run Lola Run reference

crankyman

i agree. it looked as if he was expecting blinding pain....but got none. which confused him even further. perhaps regaining his soul deactivated the chip?

then again...the govt. put it there. it's probably broken.

Pointyskull

Yup, that's what I thought, too. Running, red hair, and the music was almost exactly the same...

I love crazy, wacky Spike. Weirdly edgy.

Patman

My favorite line was something along the lines of Spike's "When did your sister become unbelievably scary?"

The look on Dawn's face was so stoic and menacing when she delivered her "You have to sleep, don't you" speech.

BTW, anyone ever think that one of the things that vampires fear (besides beheadings and a stake in the heart) is the "dawn" (of daylight) itself. It makes for a good pun if they ever did elect to go with a Dawn show later.

I thought the last 10-15 minutes where Buffy finally figures out what's wrong/right with Spike were really good drama. I love it when Buffy pieces together the bits of data and comes to the right conclusion. Marster got a juicy bit of dialogue and ran with it. He nailed that scene. SMG's tear at the end was a good touch as Buffy's realization of what's happened to Spike (what he's gone through to recover his soul) hits her just as hard.

Also, I think that with Spike's soul restored, the chip no longer causes him excruciating pain if he causes pain to another human. Sure, he's still got his vamp side, but he's now a vamp with a conscience, so his feelings of guilt is the "new chip in his head" but it now allows him to hit humans without further pain in the brain.

superstringtheory

To me it really makes no sense to have the chip in his head at this point, his conscience is going to take care of that now. I think all the voices have fried the circuits anyway

Dr. DVD

Forgive as I do not watch Angel, but didn't Darla die in the first season of Buffy? Oh well.

I think James Marsters did a good job acting when he was in the church. If that guy can shake the "Buffy" label, he might have an actual future in acting ahead of him. I thought Anya was funny in her little bit. She is basically a demon that is now riding the fence with no real sense of direction. She tries to be evil once more, but still has good left in her. This might be a major plot point on down the road, especially since Emma Caufield has stated she will not be back should Buffy return for another season (which I hope it doesn't.) Like I said earlier, Dawn was nowhere near as annoying as she was last year, but I don't think she needs a series to herself.

lwhy?

Ok, help me out here guys. Are the guys in the hooded cloaks trying to kill those next in line to be the slayer and if so how do they know? No new slayer should be called with one alive and one in jail. Is another being call because of when Buffy died when she was sacrificing herself for Dawn? I am finding these new episodes confusing. I probably am thinking too much

superstringtheory

They are known as slayers-in-training (waiting) and Watchers know who these girls are going to be when the time comes. Although the 'Lola' one from this epsiode may have only been a dream the previous one was indeed killed.

Was it coincidence? 'Ronny and Nancy'

grunter

Here I go again with the contrary opinion.

Personally I've found the first two episodes of the new season fairly pedestrian. As someone above mentioned, neither episode "flows" very well. We zip from set piece to set piece while only giving minor attention to the monster-of-the-week plots. And nothing irritates me more than endless recycled monster-of-the-week plots (see "The X-Files" for how NOT to handle these paranormal season fillers). If this is what people want to make Buffy seem more like "the good ol' days," then count me out. We've hopefully moved beyond the time where every episode had to be a rock-em, sock-em throwdown with this week's variant Hellmouth beastie. Those stock fisticuffs and vamp-spikings aren't the reason I come back week after week. I want to see the storylines between the characters progress. Those relationships - torn, frayed and strained as they are right now - are far more important than some stupid were-worm creature.

The weirdness with Spike should be much more involving than it is. I'm just not feeling for him . . . yet. Mostly because he's still a cipher two episodes post-soul return. So far, his unintellible ramblings are just that - completely unintelligible. Only the tinniest fragments of coherent thought were contained in that never-ending (capital-A) Acting capper on last night's episode.

And is it just me or is the sound on these latest episodes just piss-poor? I have to turn the volume on my set nearly to max in order to hear and understand the dialogue between the characters. Half the time, the actors are either mumbling or whispering their lightening-quick, pop-culture spattered lines. Muddying the sound only makes understanding the episodes that much more difficult.

Willow's sabbatical in the UK is a joke. Bring back after-school-special-druggie-Willow before indulging in any more of these angsty reaction shots of the hypothetical "ordeal" she's gone through in the land of tea and crumpets. Willow should have been shown interacting with the coven of elder witches to make that plot thread even remotely worthwhile. Her storyline feels cheap and perfunctory.

Oh, and Anya's a million times more annoying than Dawn ever was. I wasn't particularly enamoured of her character when she was an obsessive compulsive, money-grubbing, rude proto-human. Now that she's gone all vengeance-demon-y again - the "my heart's just not into it" storyline has absolutely no fizz. If Anya's just hanging around to act indignant and hurt any time Xander walks into a room, then just spike her in the chest and be done with it. With Anya's fifth-wheel status now becomeing fairly well established, just kicking around the Buffyverse with no apparent purpose, the death of Tara just rings all the more hollow.

But what's worse is the inevitably contrived manner in which the Scoobies are going to have to pull together and become the same ol' gang. I can't believe that we'll get a realistic Scoobie reunion. All these tensions between the gang will most likely get glossed over when the "big bad" rears its CGI head. I dread its arrival - but obviously not for the typical reasons.

grunter awaits the usual, pithy "if you don't like it, don't watch it" comments sure to follow

Breakfast with Girls

That seemed pretty clearly to be the reaction. I like how everyone is stating as fact, though, that he still has it.

Personally I really, really enjoyed last night's episode. I think James Marsters is doing a fantastic job so far.

superstringtheory

You must have REALLY hated last years storyarcs then It seems you're tired of all the characters from what you've described so maybe you just don't enjoy the show anymore. *sigh, hard to believe but alas, it happens.

Pointyskull

Hey, I'll never make the pithy "if you don't like it, don't watch it" comments, because I sat through every season of the X-Files - including those painful final two seasons - like a robotic lemming. At some point, you invest enough time in the development and involvement with the characters that you desperately want the show to be as good as it can be, or at least what you hope it should be.

I've enjoyed both episodes of the new season so far, and as long as Dawn doesn't take a pivotal role I'll like it that much more.

I do agree about the sound levels and mixing. I felt like I was missing, or almost missing, dialogue at times.

Jadzia

I'm not sure if anyone else noticed this, but I thought the title and quote "Beneath You" was interesting because Buffy once told Spike "You're beneath me" which also echoed what his first love told him when he was human.

superstringtheory

Same here 12th I hung in and was hope springs eternal til the bitter end. It's funny because even in the last season they did a few very creative episodes that showed "Hey! we still can write" but after Mulder left they REALLY had to top themselves and it just didn't happen. Anderson probably should have left (she was basically walking through her lines anyway) and let Doggett and Reyes establish a some cohesion.

Season five is probably my favorite in X-Files. IMO, Season three in Buffy is hard to compete against for anyone, i mean how can you possibly beat the mayor as a villain?? but I certainly don't frown upon the seasons that follow. Hell, I even liked Adam which I am in a minority I realize. Since I like Whedon, I just go where he takes me and resolve it all at the end of the season, and everytime I haven't been disappointed. I felt the same way about Carter at one point but it doesn't hold up like it does with Whedon.

One thing Carter let happen was the continuity of the mythos fail, especially when introducing William...I doubt that Whedon will let that happen to Buffy. Who knows, tie-in ep? Dawn is really Mulder's sister

Doug Heffernan

To each his own, But I really like Anya - sometimes more than any other character!!!!

Pointyskull

I have faith in Whedon, especially if he's intent on ending the series after this season. As much as I love the show, it needs to go out while it still has a semblance of quality.

I hope Whedon doesn't go all Chris Carter ( the bastid ) on our collectives a**es.

Either way, I'm in for the long haul, wishing and hoping for the return of my dear Faith.............

Patman

I noticed the "Beneath You" tie in with Spike's "origin" in "Fool For Love". But I wonder if they'll revisit the Helfrek-Sessily-Spike-William connection.

fujishig

I only watched the very beginning and the end, but I thought it was an episode of Alias at first (which itself reminds me of Run Lola Run, with all the times Jennifer Garner dons that red or pink wig and runs all over the place). Even the music was straight from Alias...

superstringtheory

Let's try and keep a perspective on which show was around first before Alias If anything Garner's character has copied more Buffy elements in her persona.

Pointyskull

I've never seen Alias, but I have seen plenty of pics of Jennifer Garner ( ) , and I always thought they were going for a Lola look for the character.

A German girl with red hair running, with a driving techno beat, is a Lola reference. If it's an Alias reference, it's only because Alias is referencing Lola....