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Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Villains

Willow: "Bored now."

Willow chilled me, right from the beginning; arguing with (and blasting) Osiris; walking away and not telling anyone that Tara was dead; healing Buffy in such a matter of fact way. The print from the books going up her arms, into her hair and eyes and turning them black, whoah... that was probably one of the most dramatic effects they've ever done. It seemed like the magic took over at some point, and the essential Willow was gone, gone, gone.

I was with her throughout the entire episode and even during the mouth thing and the bullet thing, but when it got to the skin thing, it was like the Gentlemen in "Hush" cutting that boy's heart out -- too much for me. It was easier to watch the second time, though, because it was clear that Warren was either dead because of it, or unconscious. (It was Xander saying, "Oh, my god," not Warren. I checked.)

Give Adam Busch credit: he was a good villain. Warren was a human who wanted to be a monster; he was laughable early in the season, and then he was despicable. But as evil as he was and as much as he deserved death, I felt sorry for the misogynistic creep at the end. And wasn't it kind of sad how he kept expecting the Sunnydale lower crust to have heard of him, and none of them had? The line between human and demon has become increasingly blurred this season with demon lovers and human villains.

Rack told Warren, "She's going to blow this town apart, starting with you." And Willow said "One down," right before she vanished. These were references, I'm assuming, to next week's episode, "Two to Go." Andrew and Jonathan certainly aren't safe in jail, but it's not the other inmates they need to fear.

Poor Dawn, coming home and finding Tara dead. But if Spike is an Evil Attempted Rapist, which was, like, a few hours ago for them, how come Buffy is ready to leave her little sister with him again? Bad continuity, no biscuit. Not that I think Spike is an Evil Attempted Rapist, because it just doesn't work for me. Plus, wait a minute, Spike can't actually protect Dawn against Warren, can he?

Where the hell did Spike go? Trees... drums... was that Swahili or something ... how could he have gotten to Africa so quickly? Did he take the Concorde? (Thanks for that one, Rebecca.) And hey, airplanes, sunlight issues? Maybe it was just a bunch of ex-patriot Africans having a party in Malibu?

Oh, well. Moving right along, why wasn't Spike extremely careful about what he wished for? In 128 years, he's never read The Monkey's Paw? The demon said, "And you want to return to your former self?", and Spike said yes. But which former self? The demon confirmed that Spike was there because of Buffy, but what does Spike really want to be? Big Bad, or Victorian Nerd? What does he want, the Slayer's gruesome death, or a quickie wedding in Vegas?

Bits and pieces:

-- Osiris told Willow that "you may not violate the law of natural passing." Which backs up why Willow could raise Buffy but not Tara, and why Dawn couldn't raise Joyce. There are rules even in the Buffyverse.

-- Andrew still thinks Warren cares about him... making him a tad more naive than Jonathan, who has long had Warren's number. Andrew is to be commended for his taste at least in one instance, though; he thinks Spike is hot.

-- Xander and Buffy finally learned that Anya is once again in the vengeance business, except she doesn't seem to be all that vengeance-y. Maybe D'Hoffryn should take those powers back; Anya's not doing her job.

-- Xander: "You said it yourself, Will. The magic's too strong. There's no coming back from it." Willow: "I'm not coming back." Dan doesn't think that Willow as a character can come back from this. (But I can't help thinking, didn't Angel? Blurred lines between humans and demons now?)

-- Clem was cute, as usual, staking out Spike's deserted crypt, with the Country Time lemonade, Bugles, liverwurst, and "I've been dying to see The Wedding Planner."

-- The second time I watched this, I noticed the following exchange: Rack: "The Slayer is the least of your problems." Warren: "You're right. Let's talk about my skin troubles." Like I said, Mutant Enemy is Evil.

Quotes:

Andrew: "You have got to chill out. This isn't Oz. It's like Mayberry."

Andrew: "Like Wargames. Remember that decoder that Matthew Broderick used?"
Jonathan: "Oh, yeah, that was rad. The one he made from the scissors and the tape recorder?"
Andrew: "I miss Ferris Matthew. Broadway Matthew, I find him cold."

Xander: (to Buffy) "You gotta stop doing this. This dying thing's funny once, maybe twice."

Xander: "Can I just ask, what's with the makeover of the damned?"

Good episode, chock-full of plot, but I was conflicted about it and it didn't all work for me. Three out of four stakes,

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

6 comments:

  1. This episode was just amazing! Willow is extremely dark and terrifying. I couldn't believe what she said to Dawn - I actually found that more shocking than her sick revenge on Warren! I never got as far as watching season 6 when it first aired on tv so watching this is all new to me! I finished watching Buffy at the end of season 5 when I got to the age that I felt too old to be watching Buffy (18!) but now I am the grand old age of 26 I feel ready to love the scoobies again :)

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  2. I think Spikes plot in Africa is not necessarily simultaneous.

    Alyson Hannigan has always rocked, but in this end of season she rocks even more.

    And Adam Busch made a great villain. But I still don't understand why Jonathan would join the Trio.

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  3. I disagree about the lack of continuity regarding Buffy being willing to let Dawn stay with Spike. Xander questions her about it and she addresses it right then. Besides, because of the chip Spike can't hurt Dawn anyway. Also, good point about Spike not being able to protect Dawn against human things. This season certainly had a lot more of human baddies than usual. However, Buffy also didn't have time to argue with Dawn because greater things were at stake. Plus, I think this was the writer's way to reveal that Spike had left town.

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  4. YES Warren is evil, YES he wasn't even slightly likable from the get-go in his introduction with the girlfriend-bot, but Adam Busch does such an incredible job with his acting. He creates a completely believable character through it all. He never felt insincere with his lines, and when he begs for his life at the end- he's still not even begging for him, just using manipulation to make it all about Willow and how she doesn't want to lose her friends or herself. As much as i hate the character, every time I see these last few episodes of this season I'm always blown away by his acting.

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  5. >>"[...]arguing with (and blasting) Osiris"
    It's both satisfying and for some reason really funny to see Willow screaming the poor useless sop out of the room lol! I watched it like 10 times, interrupting the flow of the episode to rewatch it. It's a great lead-in to the opening credits and I love the epic feeling of it.
    Willow: "nOOOOOOOOOOOOO"
    Osiris: "YAAAAAAAUGHHHH"
    I dunno if we ever see him again but hopefully not because I wanna pretend Willow managed to kill him there just with her outrage. Useless!

    >>"And Willow said "One down," right before she vanished. These were references, I'm assuming, to next week's episode, "Two to Go.""
    I love that so, so much, it was one of my favourite little things ever the first time to see the episode title right after watching this. Gave me goosebumps... I never forgot that little sequence. Genuinely badass.

    Buffy leaving Dawn with Spike is... yeah. She got over that one pretty quickly, which is odd because she sounded like such a victim when he was on her, pleading in a way I've never seen Buffy plead before. :/ Mm.
    @Anonymous: "I disagree about the lack of continuity regarding Buffy being willing to let Dawn stay with Spike. Xander questions her about it and she addresses it right then."
    Ehhhh I disagree with your disagreement. It just wasn't adequate, if you ask me. I would've actually preferred it if Xander wasn't there to bring it up at all. I'll accept them just trying to sweep that whole incident under the rug. Writers just got a little too big for their britches that one instance... it happens.

    "Warren: "You're right. Let's talk about my skin troubles.""
    lol. I didn't notice that, and it's a pretty obvious one too.

    "Andrew: "You have got to chill out. This isn't Oz. It's like Mayberry.""
    Loved that. Loved Oz, even if it becomes unbuyably ridiculous towards the ending and loses track of its themes and arcs. It's a disgusting show but captivating all the same, and it's cool to see a lot The Wire alum starting out there.

    @Tommi: "I couldn't believe what she said to Dawn"
    That didn't happen yet or I missed it. Looking forward to that, because I don't remember anything

    @Gus Brunetti: "But I still don't understand why Jonathan would join the Trio."
    I could buy it, some tend to stick to their original group of friends regardless of the direction they're going in, and even when you finally cut ties it's mostly because they dropped you first, letting you know you're just not keeping up with them anymore. Jonathan's kind of (relatably) lame to begin with. He'd never take a chance with loneliness and allow for some personal growth.

    @Georgia: "He never felt insincere with his lines, and when he begs for his life at the end- he's still not even begging for him, just using manipulation to make it all about Willow and how [...]"
    I can't quite make this out. You're saying he's not insincere with his lines, but he's also using manipulation? Did you mean the actor specifically, concerning his sincerity?

    Great episode, and before I forget *clink clink clink* May I have everyone's attention? Ahem... WILLOW DID NOTHING WRONG (except burning the corpse, leave that yummy-looking thing out there)

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  6. Willow was chilling in this episode. Allyson Hannigan does such a great job. Also it’s probably not a coincidence but I just realized her doppelgänger in season 3 also used the phrase “bored now” right before she killed someone. Good continuity.

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