The Good; All the flashbacks are great. It's also nice to see Riley who's been so put upon lately in full John Wayne mode, reminding everyone he can be pretty hardcore when he wants to be. Also love Dawn's pride at having participated in some Scooby-related cover-up, it's clear that despite their sibling rivalry she actually adores her sister and wants her to be proud of her .
The Bad; Not much this is pretty damn stunning
Best line; Buffy/Cecilly "You're beneath me" (Stick it in and break it off why don't you?)
Women good/men bad; In this case we see Cecily/Buffy destroy William/Spike with just a few words.
Jeez!; The deaths of both Slayers is awful. Buffy stabbed is pretty vicious too
Kinky dinky; Darla get's turned on by the thought of Spike and Angelus fighting. Buffy refers to her 'sexcapades with Riley' and once again Dawn seems to revel in the opportunity to burst in upon them at an intimate moment. Spike describes Buffy's wound as 'something nasty got a taste' which seems to be his plan. Dru sucking on Spike's bloody finger.
Captain Subtext; Spike calls Angelus a 'poofter' Also love Dawn's pride at having participated in some Scooby-related cover-up, she obviously longs to be in the gang. Buffy learns of a past Slayer who forged her own weapons and says that you "Gotta love a girl with her own anvil" Buffy tells Giles she loves him, obvious for a long time but possibly the first time she's said the words. Spike and Buffy at the Bronze could almost be construed as a date.
Guantanamo Bay; Buffy beats/bribes Spike for info
Scoobies to the ER; Buffy get's stabbed with her own stake. Thankfully Riley both saves her at the scene and patches her up afterwards.
Apocalypses; 5,
Scoobies in bondage: Buffy: 8 Giles: 4 Cordy: 5 Will: 3 Jenny: 1 Angel: 4 Oz: 1 Faith: 3 Joyce: 1 Wes: 1 Xander; 1 Dawn; 1
Scoobies knocked out: Buffy passes out offscreen Buffy: 16 Giles: 10 Cordy: 6 Xander: 8 Will: 5 Jenny: 2 Angel: 6 Oz: 3 Faith: 1 Joyce: 3 Wes: 1 Anya;1
Kills: 5 vamps for Riley, even without his superpowers he's still a deadly warrior. Buffy: 86 vamps, 30 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 spirit warrior & a robot Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon Cordy: 3 vamps, a demon Will: 4 vamps Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie, 1 werewolf Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, a demon, a demon Anya: a demon Riley; 17 vamps + 7 demons
Scoobies go evil: Giles: 1 Cordy: 1 Will: 2 Jenny: 1 Angel: 1 Oz: 1 Joyce: 1 Xander: 3
Alternate scoobies: Buffy: 6 Giles: 3 Cordy: 1 Will: 2 Jenny: 2 Angel: 3 Oz: 2 Joyce: 2 Xander: 3
Recurring characters killed: 9 Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara
Sunnydale deaths; 83;
Total number of scoobies: 7 Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Riley
Xander demon magnet: 5(6?) Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?
Scoobies shot: how does Spike think he can shoot Buffy when he can't even aim the fake gun Xander brought him in the Yoko factor? Giles: 2 Angel: 3 Oz: 4 Riley; 1
Notches on Scooby bedpost: Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes? Cordy: 1? Buffy: 3 confirmed; Angel, Parker,Riley, 1 possible, Dracula(?) Angel: 1;Buffy Joyce: 1;Giles, 2 possible, Ted and Dracula(?) Oz: 3; Groupie, Willow & Verucca Faith:2 ;Xander, Riley Xander: 2; Faith, Anya Willow: 2;Oz and Tara Riley; 2 Buffy and Sandy
What the fanficcers thought; nice one where William the Bloody turns down his housemaid who has a crush on him. She wishes vengeance upon him, wanting him to know the pain of rejection and Halfyrek in the form of Cecilly carries it out.
Questions and observations; In 'School Hard' Spike claims the last Slayer he killed begged for her life. Here we find she didn't although maybe he changes his story as he's trying to get with Buffy. Later we'll have yet another version. Spike's reasoning on why Buffy has survived so long seems very sound though, he's also correct that Buffy can't win forever, eventually she and Faith are going to lose if it's just the 2 of them.
Spoiler
The scene where the Fang 4 are strolling through the Boxer rebellion is interesting, if you watch Buffy first it's as it appears to be. If you watch the Angel ep Darla you realise that 'Angelus' is actually a resouled Angel and has just been saving missionaries. Buffy says she's in the best shape of his life. Dawn is still shorter than her although that will change by season 7
. Love the way Dawn takes such pride in covering up for Buffy, she really idolises her sister. Xander forgets the military signal Riley gives, his commando knowledge must have totally faded.
Willam the Bloody is just great. He's sired in 1880 which means he's NOT Jack the Ripper as some have suggested who terrorised London in 1888. Note that WTB has glasses but Spike doesn't need them. Now as a vamp his scar should heal so presumably the Chinise Slayer's weapon is enchanted.
This ep has one of the weirdest scenes ever where Buffy actually apologises to Giles that she's going to die young, implying that she's accepted her death and he hasn't?
Marks out of 10; 9/10 a stunning ep and to the delight of Spikettes everywhere.
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