Nathan Gervais

I'd argue that both Kendra & Faith are anomalies to the Slayer line and Buffy's death-rebirth-death-rebirth existence is one of the driving factors of this season. I'm also willing to bet that in some way its going to be addressed before season's end.

RaraFemina

You know, I never thought of that. Buffy wasn't dead more then a minute when Kendra was called. They could stop Faiths heart for a minute, bring her back, and then do the same to the potential that was called into action. If they kept doing this, they would have a whole army of actual slayers that The First would have to deal with.
The only problem with that is if the slayer power (or whatever you want to call it) gets stretched too thin. Someone on some board suggested that may be the reason The First is here to begin with. It knows that since there are two slayers that the "power" isn't with just the chosen one, so it knows it can win.

And Colonel Mustard....do you really think it's just a dream, or are you being sarcastic? I have to admit that after the episode with Buffy in the mental institution I had my doubts. Maybe that was a glimps of Buffy's reality, and she chose to stay in her dream world instead. (not to hijack the thread or anything)

Mantecore

Good episode, dont really have anything else to say about it!

lwhy?

Good episode. Great speech at the end. That was great!!!!! Xander is my favorite character. The Zeppo is one of my favorite episodes. I also noticed that Lalaine from Lizzie was missing. What is up with that? Has anyone finished their Season 3 dvds yet? I just finished mine. I watched everything. I didn't listen to the audio commentaries though. The wardrobe chick was kinda hot.

cooper2000

A filler episode and not a very good one. Its been a really good episode but I dont like the writing when its sub par like this.
Why is every time they deal with Dawns angst, the episode is just ok?

Amanda? Annoying as hell. I hope UPN doesnt pick her if they decide to continue the show.
She could fight a vamp alone but none of the othere girls could even with training?
I also thought Zanders speech was too After School Special.
Time for the show to come to end at the end of season 7.

lwhy?

BTVS spinoff Millie the Vampire Slayer. Freaks and Geeks joke. You have to watch all seven seasons to really understand Xander's speech.

CaptainMarvel

I agree... I'm not too keen on this. Buffy, after becoming a slayer and going through all the Slayer training (and even killing the freaking Master) had to go through the "ultimate" test in season 3's "Helpless"... killing a vampire without her powers. Now this little scrawny potential slayer can somehow do the exact same thing without any training whatsoever? Riiiiiiiiiiiight.

Jlbkwrm

I thought it was bleh. Really bleh.

The good:

Xander's speech. I was all prepared to hate it (since all of the other speeches this evening went over like lead balloons), but it was touching, and sincere, and sweet. It had a definite cheese factor, but it felt like a minorly cheesey BtVS speech (as opposed to the Dull Buffy Lectures we've been getting lately). It fit.

Dawn's not the Potential! Yay!

The bad:

I swear, once upon a time, these people knew what continuity was. It doesn't matter one flying fig whether or not Buffy's death will actually activate the next Slayer--the characters on this show have no reason to believe it would. The last time she died (and I fully believe she died. They had a dead, decomposed body. Willow brought back the dead.), nobody expected another slayer to show up. I actually spent most of season 6's premiere waiting for some mention of the possibility (even though I knew Joss said the Slayer line now lies with Faith), and no mention of another Slayer was ever made.

So, in less than two years, the exact same characters have completely changed their minds and decided Buffy's death will activate a new Slayer? And they're not, say, looking for the one that should have been activated last time she died?

I don't have much of an issue with the characters believing something that the audience knows to be false--I do have a problem with characterization so inconsistant that they start believing things at random.

And, hello, why has nobody contacted Faith yet? Heck, she doesn't have to appear on screen--just call her, tell her to watch her back.

Spike. Buffy doesn't /think/ The First has the power to turn him into a killing machine... right now. She thinks it's probably safe to let the dangerous vampire whose mind isn't entirely his own wander freely throughout her house. How will she know when the First is stronger again? When it gets Spike to take a chunk out of Millie? Or is she just assuming it'll send her a dinner card?

DawnAngst... Just not feeling it.

And Buffy's lectures are just... dull. Melodramatic, and dull. And completely unrelated to all the things that made her a successful Slayer (Friends, family, enjoyment of life, etc.) They just don't... fit, somehow. If these aren't the result of some weird mental issues on Buffy's part, then they're just wrong. This isn't the result of any sort of character growth--Buffy was perfectly capable of saving the world before she decided she was steeped in death. Blah.

I dunno. Part of my irritation is probably with how unbelievably slow things are moving. The gaps between new episodes, combined with very little happening in the episodes, leaves me feeling disappointed. Of course, the other part of my irritation is the replacement of the characters with Idiot Podpeople.

ChefWinduAZ

I liked tonight's episode even though I had missed the episode before it. That last scene with Xander and Dawn was great. That was just great writing there. The only thing missing was "For Your Consideration" flashing on the screen, it was that good. I am really liking this season. It looks like they are setting it up for a grand finale.

As for the whole who is the Slayer discussion, my question is what about when Faith was in the coma? Would another Slayer have been activated? Also is Faith supposed to be in prison now?

Jlbkwrm

Nope. At least, not according to the rules as they currently exist (Whedon could always change his mind, or something.) One dies, the next is called. If one's incapacitated, the world just has to wait for her to get better.

Quote:

Also is Faith supposed to be in prison now?

Yes. She turned herself in during the first season of Angel (she did the two-part body-switching Buffy S4 episodes, then did a couple of episodes on Angel.) Angel's gone to visit her at least once.

ChefWinduAZ

Thanks for clearing it up for me Jlbkwrm. Now I just hope that Buffy and the gang bust Faith out of jail for some serious ass whipping.

Rubix

after hearing xander's speech i am pretty sure that it is secret code for "i'm dying this season." too bad since he is the best character.

JTH182

I don't know how anyone was fooled into thinking Dawn was the potential after the scene in the counselor's office... lol, I thought it was pretty obvious who the potential was.

Also, IMHO the group is forgetting about Faith with all this First hoopla... They all think Buffy needs to die for a new slayer to be called, when in fact it is Faith... I don't think the writer's are dropping any balls. I bet in an upcoming episode, the gang "suddenly" remembers who the "real" slayer is.

Pointyskull

Yeah, what's up with that?
She was in the scene where Eve did her vanishing act, but now she's nowhere to be found.

The only reason I even noticed is that she is very cute. My daughter, who is a big Lizzie McGuire fan, actually pointed it out to me first. Otherwise, some of those SIT's are kind of anonymous....

Colonel Mustard

Which all seem to point out that this time, it was different than when she died the first time. Spike couldn't hit after he got the chip after she died the first time. I assume there was no DNA change, either. She herself doesn't really know what happened, other than she was in another place, and was brought back. She assumes she was dead, but she still doesn't understand the whole Spike thing, as I understand it.

Shrug

I'm just saying there are holes that the writers can wiggle through here. Not saying you are wrong, just that you could be

Colonel Mustard

I have no idea, but that is what I think is cool about this show. They did throw that wildcard out there to keep us wondering, which makes it even more interesting trying to figure out how they'll wrap this whole thing up.

Of course, if it is a dream, then Angel is a dream she isn't even in That makes that whole theory a bit hard to stand behind.

Colonel Mustard

I agree that is a good point and a good possibility. I'm just arguing there are holes that could be used if the writers want to keep two slayer lines going.

movielib

I never believed for a second that Dawn was the potential. They were pushing the idea on us so hard I knew it had to be false.

On the down side, our local UPN affiliate screwed up the commercial break before the last segment of the show and I missed the slayerettes' fight with their vamp and the climax with Dawn and the real potential. I know what happened but didn't see it. I'll have to watch for the rerun of this one.

Dr. DVD

I thought it was a solid episode, but nothing exceptional. While I am glad Dawn is not the potential, she is starting to grow on me. Xander's speech pretty much summed up his role on the show, and it does ring true for anyone who plays the part of silent observer for the most part.

For those of you with problems in consistency, I hate to say this, but Whedon himself said: " continuity is for wusses." In short, there is a good chance we will never see these problems addressed.

crankyman

i like the feel of wood in my hand.

lost me there.....

Pointyskull

Continuity has never been a strong suit of BtVS. It's just one of those things. Still love the show, however.

Can't wait to see Faith again - no matter WHO the formal slayer really is

Timber

I don't think they showed the "slayerettes" fight with the vamp. Or they screwed up my commercial as well.

renaldow

I liked the episode, it's moving the story along. Some comments for your consideration:

Xander's Speech:
I thought it was farely stupid. Did he and everyone else forget that Dawn is/was The Key? She's not a normal, mundane person. Only Xander is out of the group. Dawn is a magic being as much as any of the demons, vampires, or slayers on the show. Buffy's the slayer, Spike's a vamp, Willow's a witch, Anya was a demon, Dawn's The Key, and even Cordelia became a demon and Oz a werewolf. Only Giles and Xander are normal run of the mill people.

Faith being the slayer:
I agree, continuity wise she should be the slayer, and Buffy hasn't been the slayer since the end of Season 1. However, in a previous season (was it when she turned 18, or later?!?) the 'original cavewoman/tribal chick slayer' came to her and gave her visions for awhile. I'd have to say that makes her still the slayer. And, even though she did die again after that (ugh) the First is not (as far as we know) out looking to kill Faith, but is after Buffy. So, since the evil realm still recognizes her as the true slayer and not Faith, I will too.

Continuity:
It's a TV show, I enjoy it. I'm not looking for a lot of reality or logic here. If you want logic then Angel and his cast should have driven the 2 hours from LA to help fight the First. For more reality, Xander and Willow should've been dead years ago, they would have been lucky to make it out of Season 1, let alone Season 6.

Ghym

Yeah, I really like Xander too. "The Zeppo" is one of my favorite episodes too. I wasn't too excited by this new episode as a whole, but his scene with Dawn at the end was great. I don't really like Dawn's character, but I also liked the scene where she realized she wasn't a SIT and let the other girl take out the vamp. When they made out like Dawn was a SIT, I was just hoping they were misleading us. Glad they were. Now, for the whole Faith thing. I find it hard to believe that Joss & Co have forgotten that Faith is the "official" Slayer. I'm hoping they do address that soon. I hope they are just setting up for something good.

Jadzia

I don't think the writers are confused about who the slayer is, Ithink just Buffy is.

She probably forgets there is another one, since she is always so focused on saving the world herself.

I want to see Xander become a watcher.