Buffy Season Eight: The Long Way Home, Part 3

Xander: "Ladies and other ladies... the indescribable Rosenberg."

Synopsis:

In Buffy's dreamscape, the one who said "my love" is revealed to be Ethan Rayne, who is trying to contact her for reasons we don't yet know. Ethan shows Buffy what is happening in the real world, which is Willow versus Amy. He shows her what is coming: Amy's cage from a rat-sized perspective, the inside of something red and blotchy with a dead demon, and a device like an X-shaped cage.

As the slayers below battle the undead (remember the undead attacking in the previous episode?) Willow (floating in the air) calls on the Dark Willow within to defeat Amy, and Giant Dawn joins in the fight. They win, of course.

In the room where Buffy still lies unconscious awaiting the kiss of true love, Willow tells everyone to shut their eyes so that the one person in the room in love with Buffy can kiss her. Big room full of Slayers, Willow and Xander. We don't see who actually kisses Buffy, but it's hinted that it's Xander. And it works.

Willow casts a spell to find out where Amy came from. It opens a portal and takes Amy and Willow back to the pseudo-Initiative, where Willow is taken prisoner. Amy's boyfriend shows up in the last frame, and we finally see who it is. It's Warren, alive but in his skin-free state, holding a saw, and ready for Dark Willow payback. And yuck.

Review:

It makes perfect sense that Amy's utterly revolting boyfriend would turn out to be Warren. But what Willow did to Warren in season six is probably my least favorite major Buffy plot point, and I'm grossed out that he's back. Will Buffy save Willow before Warren can go all Texas Chainsaw without the chain?

I liked Willow, Xander and Buffy discussing their lack of a love life this past year, probably because reminded me of an early scene in the series. So who kissed Buffy awake? Buffy did fantasize about Xander in the previous issue. Now that they're paper characters instead of flesh, is Joss Whedon finally putting Buffy and Xander together?

And what happened with Willow and Kennedy? Willow told Buffy that Kennedy died, but came back. "Mystical thing. Only lasted a month." At least they broke up, so we might not have to deal with cartoon Kennedy. Please spare us from cartoon Kennedy. Can I mention again that I want Tara back, and I don't care how they do it? Come on, Joss. You don't have to get Amber Benson to sign on. Bring Tara back.

I think my favorite bit in this issue was a panel of one of Buffy's sexual fantasies. Buffy was in a nurse's uniform chained tightly between Angel and Spike, both nude, while around them were weird cupids, stakes hovering over orchid blossoms, and a train going through a tunnel. Absolutely hilarious. And not something they could have done on television.

Bits and pieces:

-- We still don't know where Willow was this past year.

-- Giles and one of the monsters from the first scene in the season argued about their truce against their mutual enemy. Giles says that someone engineered the original conflict in the castle.

-- Renee was injured. Xander was trying to comfort her.

-- In Italy, Andrew is seeing no action but he is happy babysitting many hot, young slayers. Nothing's happening but they keep bringing him into the story. There must be a reason.

-- Ethan Rayne has always been evil. What's his agenda? Whose side is he on?

Quotes:

Dawn: "We totally have to talk. Are you evil again?"
Willow: "It'll fade. She just really pissed me off."

Buffy: "Three X's. Triple X. So it's either Vin Diesel or porn, neither of which is attractive."

Willow: "Serious magic is kinda like improv, Dawn. You can't just stop it cold; you gotta adapt."
Dawn: "Is that why I've got an army of the undead playing Pride and Prejudice around my ankles?"

Xander: "Back in my day, which was about a week and a half ago, we took our lumps and we got back up and we cried like babies and quit and then put on weight."

Xander: "Of course, according to my parents, the action I'm getting right now should make my last remaining eye go blind."

Amy: "Great big all-powerful earth-mother witch goddess... and she still falls for the rope-a-dope."

So much for part three. This is going way too slowly for me,

Billie
---
Billie Doux reviewed all of Buffy and Angel, so she knows the plural of apocalypse.

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