Buffy the Vampire Slayer and Angel the Vampire

[lorenzovanmatte]

INTERVENTION

Spoiler

The Good;
Pretty good, nice to have some levity after the intensity of the past few eps. I love the Buffybot, she's so sweet and innocent and happy all the time. Spike's idea of Angel which the Buffybot voices makes me laugh out loud every time. Buffy and Giles in the desert is also good.
The Bad;
Rather than chase after Spike, Glory just stands there and lets the Scoobies get away?
Best line;
Glory (of Spike); What the hell is that and why is it's hair that colour?
Women good/men bad;
Jeez!;
Torturing Spike isn't nice
Kinky dinky;
Spike and the Buffybot 'lots of different ways'. Love her standing up when Xander knocks on the crypt door gag, you wonder was that SMG or her stand in? Note that even when the Buffybot is Spike's ideal woman he still wants her to beat him up before they have sex? The Key has to be pure? Does that mean if Dawn has sex with Kevin or RJ or whoever that means she'd be safe? Glory's negligee is also quite something. The Slayer forges 'strength from pain' according to the primitive which might explain Faith and Buffy's hints at S&M.
Captain Subtext;
Note when Spike has sex with the Buffybot he has her wear Buffy's black leather jacket, just like Angel's. The whole of the Buffybot's dialogue seems to be a satire on the Spikette's fawning over the peroxide one. Xanders description of Spike is rather vivid as Buffy observes and he also feels sorry for Spike having lost his sex toy. Buffy refers to her robot double as 'skirt girl'. Spike refers to Glory as ****ish. Spike gets his first real kiss from Buffy.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Spike gets the bejesus beaten out of him but I doubt the ER would do him any good.
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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: Xander
Buffy: 16
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 9
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;1
Kills: Xander and Anya are considered competent enough to patrol alone, Anya nails her first vamp
Buffy: 95 vamps, 32 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: 1 vamp and ½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Buffybot; 1 vamp
Spike; 1 demon and 2 vamps in Buffy service.

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: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
89;

Total number of scoobies: 6
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot: Anya wonders if they should have guns?
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Questions and observations;
Very long teaser, important to recap what's gone before. Buffy feels guilty about how she's treated Dawn. Ben and Glory seem to be merging more and more. Boy is that the FATTEST puma you've ever seen? Tara comments that Will has surpassed her in magical terms. The beginning of Dawn's kelptomania. Note that just like April the Buffybot begins to break her programme, not staying in the crypt like she was supposed to. Hellmouth energy or is Warren not as clever/cleverer than he thinks? Or subconsciously WANTS his girl to be independent as Katrina was? Love the way Glory says 'Precious?', very LOTR, Xander also refers to hobbits. It seems Glory and her minions like TV, demons once again overcome by humanity. I read once that Bob Barker was a karate expert (he beats up Adam Sandler in Happy Gilmore "The price is wrong, *****!")
Marks out of 10; 8/10

EPIPHANY

Spoiler

The Good;
All of it, just magnificent, especially love the Lindsey/Angel fight and the truck crashing through the window.
The Bad;
Anyone?
Best line:
Gunn; "So what, you had a epiphany? Just wake up and bang?"
Angel; "Sort of the other way around"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Even though it's just plastic you wince when Angel smashes Lindsey's hand
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Damsel in distress; 18 Cordy this time around
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
We all expect Angel to lose his soul but he doesn't only Buffy can do that to him
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; still off from last week so yes
12
Cordy's tattoo;4
Cheap Angel;
6
Fang Gang in bondage: Wes and Gunn at the house
Cordy: 5
Angel: 9
Wes: 4
Gunn; 1

Fang gang knocked out: Cordy post-impregnation
Cordy: 11
Angel: 12
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 1
Kills: 1 demon for Angel and one for Wes
Cordy: 5 vamps, 1½ demons
Angel; 22 vamps, 32 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 2 demon
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 5 vamps+ 2 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed:
35
Recurring characters killed;
5;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
4, Angel, Cordy, Wes and Gunn

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 10
Wes; 1
Packing heat; Wes for the third time with his shotgun
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 2 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast
Angel: 2; Buffy and Darla
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Darla and Angel have sex three times. Darla considers herself very good in the sack as she's been doing it for 400years and used to be a professional. She asks Angel was she "Not good?" which is exactly what Buffy says in Innocence. Lorne suggests that Angel give Darla cab fare (I had a friend who always said that if a guy does that/cooks you breakfast afterwards it made you a prostitute. Strangely she is now an unmarried mother). On that topic Cordy impregnated by a demon against her will for the second time. And we always thought Xander was the demon magnet? Of course if you like that sort of thing;
http://www.taboostudios.com/taboomain.html Over 18s ONLY!

Captain Subtext;
Apparently the way to tell Angel and Angelus apart is that Angelus wears leather pants? Keith Topping suggests that at the end of the ep Lindsey is 'struggling with his sexuality' but I'm not so sure?
Know the face, different character; 2
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 14
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master, Anne
Questions and observations;
The PTB decide to save Kate, well you would, wouldn't you? How much do I love Lindsey as a lonely drunken teenage buck with a pink carnation, pick up truck, cowboy boots and sledgehammer? Angel uses the 70s term 'pad', well he was about back then, a groovy cat if there ever was one. Angel smashing Lindsey's hand is SUCH a powerful moment, even when you know it's plastic it still makes you wince. Goodbye to Kate who leaves LA, changes her identity and becomes a district attorney in New York before returning to Angel in season 6. http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3106733/1/Girls_Night_Out is interesting. Angels observation that if it all means nothing then the smallest act of kindness means everything is just wonderful. Lovely ending too with Cordy being caught by Angel, the gang is back together.
Marks out of 10; 10/10

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

TOUGH LOVE

Spoiler

The Good;
Good scenes between Buffy and Dawn, excellent battle between Willow and Glory
The Bad;
If you're a Tara fan it's pretty gut-wrenching
Best line;
Minion; "Begging your pardon and begging in general"
Women good/men bad;
Glory calls Tara a tramp
Jeez!;
Glory brainsucking Tara is awful although Clare Kramer gives a great performance describing the madness (which of course Glory experiences it too). Anya's racism against the French is also a bit much (and surely Anya is actually Swedish, yah?). Willow spits on Glory.
Kinky dinky;
Glory bathes in front of her minions but blindfolds them.
Captain Subtext;
Tara and Willow have their first fight. A lot of people disliked this but couples fight, straight or gay, everyone has arguments. Willow refers to lesbo-street cred, she tells Tara that she's the only woman she's fallen in love with (again, bi rather than gay?). Implying that Tara has had gay lovers before? Anya offers to let Willow sleep with her admitting this sounds a lot more lesbian than she intended. Glory gives lots of little hints of lesbianism when she's 'holding' Tara's hand. Lovely scene at the end where Buffy and Willow are with 'their girls', Will kissing Tara and Buffy stroking Dawn's hair.
Guantanamo Bay;
Giles tortures Glory's minion. With the same trick Angelus played on him?
Scoobies to the ER;
Poor Tara, brainsucked.
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5, Glory asks did anyone order one?
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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: 16
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;1
Kills:
Buffy: 96 vamps, 32 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: 1vamp + ½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Buffybot; 1 vamp
Spike; 1 vamp and 1/2 a demon

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: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
89;

Total number of scoobies: 6
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Questions and observations;
You feel so bad for Buffy having to quit school and so bad for Ben being fired. Glory likes aspects of this dimension, changing her tune (because of Ben's influence?). The scenes with Buffy and Dawn over Dawn's truancy are heartrending, the terror they feel at the prospect of losing each other. Can't Dawn go to Aunt Arlene? Once again Tara says she fears Will's magic. Buffy's 'Things change' line may be from Batman Returns? What do people want petrified hamsters for?
Marks out of 10; 7/10

DISHARMONY

Spoiler

The Good;
Wes and co take delight in humiliating Angel and it is funny as hell. All the Harmony stuff is excellent.
The Bad;
Understandably a lightweight ep, Cordy pretty much in denial throughout, she needs a friend and wants to believe she can trust Harmony. Harmony says that there are over 100 vamps in the theatre but they seem to almost all flee at the sight of the 5 strong AI team?
Best line:
Gunn "I say nuh and uh"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
The all you can eat vamp buffet
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Damsel in distress; 18
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tattoo; yep, definitely as CC stands up.
5
Cheap Angel;
6
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 9
Wes: 4
Gunn; 1

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 10
Angel: 12
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 1
Kills: 4 vamps for Angel, 2 for Gunn
Cordy: 5 vamps, 1½ demons
Angel; 26 vamps, 32 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 2 demon
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 7 vamps+ 2 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed:
35
Recurring characters killed;
5;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
4, Angel, Cordy, Wes and Gunn

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 10
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 2
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 2 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast
Angel: 1;Buffy
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Harmony is so cute in her babydoll nightie. Her ode to the joys of human blood seems to even tempt Angel. Gunn also seems beguiled by Harm and vice versa until he discovers she's a vampire
Captain Subtext;
Lesbian subtext between Cordy and Harmony and then more explicit lesbian text between Cordy and Willow, CC not aware of Will's relationship with Tara up until this point. The cult leader wants to turn Wes and Gunn and eat Cordy suggesting women aren't really his thing. Cordy praises Angel as having a 'gay man's taste in clothes'.
Know the face, different character; 2
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; add Willow and Harmony so 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master, Anne, Willow, Harmony
What the fanficcers thought;
http://buffy.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=15274 (18+ only)
Questions and observations;
Cordy's jacket makes her look like a Prussian Hussar or something. Interesting to see Wes and Angel silently vie for the leadership role. Now I know an awful lot of people hate this ep with a vengence but I think it's great, Harmony is such a breath of fresh air, a nice light ep after the intensity of the Darla arc. Love Wes' Xena moment, "Kill'em all!"
Marks out of 10; 8/10

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

SPIRAL

Spoiler

The Good;
Buffy fighting medieval knights on top of a mobile home. Again you never get this on Dawson's Creek!
The Bad;
Once again the budget can't really keep up with the concept. Also you can see it's a dummy when Buffy carries 'Dawn' (as indeed it is in many scenes at the end of Aliens because Sigourney had hurt her back)
Best line;
Xander; We got company and they brought a crusade!
Women good/men bad;
Jeez!;
The scene between Dawn and Buffy in the camper van really brings home to you how much her life can 'Suck beyond the telling of it'.
Kinky dinky;
The female minion fancies Ben. Shouldn't she fancy other 'hobbits with leprosy?'
Captain Subtext;
Xander helps Spike light his cigarette. Dawn observes that Glory has 'nice feet'. Ben observes terrible things happen to good people. Well, they're certainly going to happen to him.
Guantanamo Bay;
Gregor captured and occasionally hit by the Scoobs.
Scoobies to the ER;
Giles speared. Spike's hands cut.
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

Scoobies in bondage: Dawn tied up
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 1
Dawn; 2

Scoobies knocked out:
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: Buffy kills at least one knight
Buffy: 95 vamps, 32 demons, 6 monsters, 4 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: 1 vamp and ½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Buffybot; 1 vamp
Spike; 1 vamp and 1 demon

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, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
89;

Total number of scoobies: 7 from now on Spike an instrinsic part of the group
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Spike

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Questions and observations;
Willow seems to have got over her fear of horses and now doesn't want Buffy to hurt them. Xander doesn't travel well. Anya knows this but you wonder how? I for one agree with Buffy's strategy, they can't fight Glory, Tara's already been hurt, time to get the hell out of dodge! The knights actually seem pretty good guys if they weren't trying to kill Dawn, all they want to do is stop Glory which seems a reasonable idea. But they should have taken Mr Trick's advice and got some Uzis. Of course Gregor is played by the same actor who murdered Tru's mother in Eliza Dushku's show Tru Calling (Riley's friend Forrest also guest starring as did Clare Kramer and Cobie Smulders, the girl who plays Robin on Alysson Hannigan's show How I Met Your Mother). Gregor actually plays the part of Basil Exposition pretty well, Glory knows him so he's survived an encounter with her before. The camper van with the windows blocked out reminds me of the excellent Kathryn Bigelow vampire film Near Dark. Poor Buffy, it really does just keep coming and coming. Why does Ben come to the Scoobs if he knows he's a threat to Dawn? Note both Summers girls have their darkside. Why don't they go to The Council or Angel Investigations for help?
Marks out of 10; 8/10 for the chase sequence alone

DEAD END

Spoiler

The Good;
Well if you like gross horror concepts this one's for you! A very nice end to the Lindsey story arc (for now) and some good humour about corporations and how they work. Very clever scene where we see around Lindsey's apartment with all the little features showing his life with 1 hand.
The Bad;
When Lindsey shoots up the boardroom where the heck are WR+H's crack security team who always seem to turn up on every other occasion?
Best line:
Lindsey "Stop it evil hand!"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Eye stabbing anyone? Or living organ donors? Plus Angel garrotting the parole officer.
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Damsel in distress; 18
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tattoo;
Her green top shows it to great advantage so 6
Cheap Angel;
6
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 9
Wes: 4
Gunn; 1

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 10
Angel: 12
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Kills:
Cordy: 5 vamps, 1½ demons
Angel; 26 vamps, 32 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 2 demon
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 7 vamps+ 2 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed: Lindsey's donor
36
Recurring characters killed;
5;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
4, Angel, Cordy, Wes and Gunn

Angel Investigations shot: Angel by the parole officer.
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 2 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast
Angel: 1;Buffy
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Of course this being LA even the organ donors are insanely pretty. Lindsey pinches Lilah on the way out, well you would, wouldn't you?
Captain Subtext;
Angel seems to yearn for the parole officers 'butterfat'? (Yuck!)
Know the face, different character; 2
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master, Anne, Harmony, Willow
Questions and observations;
Once again Wes and Angel subtly compete for leadership. Love Wes delegating Angel to help Cordy. Lilah suffers a death of the thousand cuts, constantly humiliated by Lindsey, treated as a secretary by Lindsey's client. No offence to Christian Kane but I really don't think he's that good as a singer. Kate is sorely missed by AI who now have to pay an outside contractor. Poor Cordy, the visions really starting to take their toll. Interestingly Angel warns Lindsey to never come back and Lindsey warns Angel never to play WR&H's game. NEITHER listens to each other's advice.
Marks out of 10; 8/10 great stuff and the last we'll see off Lindsey for 3 whole seasons.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

THE WEIGHT OF THE WORLD

Spoiler

The Good;
The dream sequence is wonderful, nice scene between Doc and Xander/Spike too. Love the forgetting Glory joke (did Steven Moffat).
The Bad;
Very much a standing still sort of ep but hinting at better things to come. If Doc could tell that Joyce had good DNA from a hair off Dawn's head then surely he'd realise she was the Key? (Glory can tell it by tasting Tara's blood)
Best line;
Dawn "I want to go home" (AAAAWWWWWW!)
Women good/men bad;
Jeez!;
Dawn hostage is horrible. Buffy in her dream smothering Dawn is UTTERLY horrible! Killing Dawn is unthinkable.
Kinky dinky;
Spike says he thinks Buffy likes it rough. How right he will be proved to be!
Captain Subtext;
Again Glory seems to have some genuine rapport/attraction with her Key. Glory says that she and Dawn need 'Girl time' and 'big girl fun'.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 5,
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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: 16
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;1
Kills:
Buffy: 94 vamps, 32 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 1 demon
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: ½ a demon
Riley; 18 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: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
89;

Total number of scoobies: 6
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Questions and observations;
Different little Buffy this time and I think she's a much better match, if you've ever seen the burger ads she really does resemble 6 year old SMG. Lovely to see Joyce and Hank again, lovely to see the first meeting between Buffy and Dawn and what she means to Buffy. We see Glory try to bring her worldly goods with her to her home dimension, humanity working on demons once again. Willow in charge once more foretelling season 6. Glory actually uses Dawn's catchphrase 'Get out!'
So Ben, good guy, bad guy? Hard to judge but ultimately a bad guy with some sympathetic qualitities. Maybe in the end Ben is influenced by his Glory side to be evil?
Marks out of 10; 7/10

BELONGING

Spoiler

The Good;
Very clever opening with the mirror in the resteraunt. The scene with Angel on the false beach is also great and all the stuff between Lorne (aka Krevlorneswath of the Deathwok clan) and his cousin "Again ,NOT a coward!"
The Bad;
Awful to see Cordy humiliated by the director, CC a veteran of loads of commercials in real life, I wonder if this was an experience she had? As Angel says, I thought demon violence was impossible in Caritas.
Best line:
Rondell "We been waiting on you for months, bro"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
The poor guys whom the Drakken eats
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Damsel in distress; the girl the Drakken takes as food 19
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tattoo; 6, they actually go to great lengths not to show it during the commercial shoot.
Cheap Angel; 7
Treats the gang to a fancy dinner but insists on getting his money's worth. Says he's not cheap just old.
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 9
Wes: 4
Gunn; 1

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 10
Angel: 12
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 1
Kills: Wes kills the Haclaar, Angel kills the Drakken
Cordy: 5 vamps, 1½ demons
Angel; 26 vamps, 33 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 3 demons
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 7 vamps+ 2 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed: 2 guys by the Drakken
37
Recurring characters killed; Gunn's friend George
6;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
4, Angel, Cordy, Wes and Gunn

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat; Gunn suggests using a flamethrower against the demon, we've seen a member of his gang use one in War Zone
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 2 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast
Angel: 2; Buffy and Darla
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Angel remembers when you could get a tavern wench for a few bob (presumably when he was Liam the drunken ****ing layabout rather than Angelus). Needless to say Cordy looks incredible in her seashell bikini as indeed does her gorgeous blonde co-star who seems quite smitten with Angel and very taken aback that he doesn't notice her considerable charms on display. When Angel relates the description of Cordy's bikini to Gunn and Wes they seem very interested (still think of CC sexually?). And check out Angel fondling his axe as he tells them. Apparently Haclaar beasts feed and mate at the same time.
Captain Subtext;
Cordy describes Fred as pretty. Lorne says he used to chat up the senoritas at the bar when the other Pylean men were out hunting once again painting him as bi.
Know the face, different character; 2
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Wes phones home, when we see his dad in 'Lineage' we understand this conversation better. Lorne performs an excellent version of Stevie Wonders 'Superstition', Andy Hallet's second best song on the show in my opinion. Fred for the first time. Love the way the librarian rationalises Lorne's appearance. He refers to Harry Potter, I don't know if it's deliberate but Wes the sorcerer has a little zigzag scar on his forehead throughout the ep.
Marks out of 10; 6/10 ok ep but not brilliant, promises much to come

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

THE GIFT

Spoiler

The Good;
The final battle especially the bait and switch with the Buffybot and the Dawn/Buffy scene at the end. Also like the way Buffy casually announces to the gang she killed a vampire and they treat it like no big deal. Love the Scooby strategising session and Anya's gameshow hostess introduction of the troll hammer. Best ever Minion toadying 'Oh groovetastic one' and 'Oh sweaty naughty feelings causing one'.
The Bad;
Doesn't anyone notice Glory's tower? Since when was Olaf a troll 'god'? Some of the minion makeup doesn't look so good, one rather looks like Michael Myers from the Halloween series. WHY NO COMMENTARY? Especially as this could have been the last ever Buffy ep.
Best line;
Minion 1; This shall be our day of Glory!
Minion 2; Nicely put!
Minion 1; Well it just cried out to me! (takes crossbow bolt in the chest) Ugh!
Women good/men bad;
The guy she saves (who resembles Jonathon a lot) says she's "Just a girl". Yeah pal and the ocean is 'Just water'.
Jeez!;
How heartrending is it when Dawn folds her clothes up before she is to be sacrificed, like Joyce taught her? Just as Buffy wishes that Joyce was still there. Doc cuts Dawn.
Kinky dinky;
Xander and Anya have a world in peril quickie. Then he proposes. Anya and Xander call each other pervert.
Captain Subtext;
Tara's back, hooray! "I got so lost". So you can restore Glory's brainsucking. She also tells Giles 'You're a killer' before he kills Ben. Dawn asks Ben to turn into Glory as she prefers her, Glory refers to Buffy as sweetcheeks. Xander observes 'Smart chicks are so hot'. "You couldn't have figured that out in 10th grade?" asks Willow ruefully (another mark in the bi column). Xander however doubts that Willow thinks of Buffy like that but what does he know, he never noticed Tara and Willow and Spike did. Buffy once again hints that the connection between her and Dawn is deeper than just sisters, she describes it as physical and says that she is closer to Dawn than anyone (as the final scene with the Summers' blood will prove). Spike quotes Henry V, William the Bloody sensitive poet still in there somewhere.
Guantanamo Bay;
Giles kills Ben/Glory. The right thing to do but still ruthless as hell. Would Xander have done it if Giles hadn't? It's him who comes up with the idea in the first place. Giles proposes killing Dawn. Too much to ask of Buffy but there are millions of Dawns all over the world, sacrifice one to save them all? Buffy tells Giles that if Dawn dies the council can get someone else (Faith?). But could she ever walk away from all those other Dawns?
Scoobies to the ER;
All pretty banged up, I heard a rumour that season 6 would see Anya in a wheelchair but it never happened.
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6 oh yeah, here's where Angel gets his dragon
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

Scoobies in bondage: Dawn for the third time
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 1
Dawn; 3

Scoobies knocked out:
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: Buffy kills one more vamp, I thought it might be her 100th for the 100th ep but just short. Does she kill Doc? He can survive being stabbed so could he survive the fall? Giles kills Ben/Glory and at least one minion as does Spike.
Buffy: 96 vamps, 32 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, ½ a demon, ½ a demon
Anya: 1 vamp and ½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 2 vamps and 2 demon

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: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
89;

Total number of scoobies: 7
Giles, Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Spike

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Questions and observations;
Lovely recap of past 100 eps, especially nice to have Cordy and Angel. The vamp in the alley goes 'Oh god'? I know it's weird but I always rather liked Glory's minions. Very clever that when we see the Buffybot it's wearing the clothes we've last seen Buffy in. SMG puts on her white jumper which later turns up in 'The Grudge'. The creatures from the transformed city hall rather resemble the bugs from Aliens especially the Alien Hybrid from Alien 4 which Joss wrote.
So what happens to the people Glory brainsucked? We know that there is a link between Glory and them, when Glory dies do they return to normal? (I remember reading one very inventive fic where Faith had been brainsucked by Glory and in the follow-up story DarkWillow cures her by brainsucking Warren before she kills him and giving Faith his mental energy. http://www.t-s-s-a.com/stories/show-story.php?story=Buffy-WhyDoWeWriteThis04.txt (18+only) But you figure if Faith can recover from her coma Slayer healing would easily take care of it?). Spike says blood is life which is what possessed Xander says in Buffy vs Dracula. Plenty of stories too where Glory enslaves the Scoobs but then things take an unexpected twist; http://www.t-s-s-a.com/stories/show-story.php?story=Buffy-BuffyConquers.txt
http://buffy.adultfanfiction.net/story.php?no=15340 over 18s only
Please note all Dawn-haters, Dawn was quite willing to commit suicide to save the world. And if Buffy's blood hadn't worked she'd have followed her off the tower, Faith would be the Slayer and the Summers girls would all be together in heaven.
A lot of people wanted Buffy to end at this point but I don't, I don't want Buffy to die young like all the other Slayers, I want her to live a long and happy life and I don't want poor Dawn to lose the mother and sister she loves within 6 weeks of each other. But still, stonking ep, if it had ended like this it would have been ok with me.
Marks out of 10; 10/10 for the girl who saved the world a lot (and still does)

OVER THE RAINBOW

Spoiler

The Good;
A fun romp veering unpredictably from the ridiculous to the sublime, not so much the series changing direction as looping the loop and throwing in a barrel roll for good measure. Must be so nice for DB to be able to work in the sun for once.
The Bad;
Even the most imaginative set dressing can't hide the cheapness of some of the production qualities. The bit where Lorne goes to see his psychic friend is also blatantly filler (although I love her name, Persia White, sounds like a film noir heroine?)
Best line: Another Xena reference (see also Disharmony and Halloween on Buffy)
Gunn; (on being told that Pylea is rife with xenophobia) "Why are they afraid of Xena? I think she's kinda fly"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
A lot of the Pylea stuff especially the hellbeast discecting the guy. We thankfully never see the AI group as a freakishly hybridinized siamese twin, as Gunn observes, horrified "That was a risk!!!?"
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
The guys take on the villagers and for once they lose.
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tattoo; 6,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage: Cordyx2 but the rest of the guys as well
Cordy: 7
Angel: 10
Wes: 5
Gunn; 2
Lorne; 1

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 10
Angel: 12
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 1
Kills:
Cordy: 5 vamps, 1½ demons
Angel; 26 vamps, 33 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 3 demons
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 7 vamps+ 2 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed:
37
Recurring characters killed;
6;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
4, Angel, Cordy, Wes and Gunn

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 2 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast
Angel: 2; Buffy and Darla
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Cordy as a slave for the second time. If you enjoy seeing beautiful women enslaved, enchained and degraded this is the ep for you. Of course if you enjoy that you should be in deep, deep therapy rather than reading my reviews! Wes has handcuffs or at least knows someone who does (Mistress Spanksalot?). Once again, here's where they miss Kate who could have lent them some.
Captain Subtext;
Gunn likes Xena. Now this could either be classed as kinky dinky, he just likes hot dominant women in leather,(well who doesn't?) or it could have some deeper significance? Pylea strikes you as just the sort of place that Xena and Gabby would clean up.
Know the face, different character; 2
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Angel was in the Tower of London at some stage. First real appearance for Fred and Amy Acker does a great job of portraying her impending madness. Also Gavin Parks oozes his Gucci clad self into the show. The scene where Angel leaves the tape for Gunn is very reminiscent of Kurt Russell in The Thing. Angel delighted in the daylight, his joy is lovely to behold.
Marks out of 10; 6/10, not great in itself but again, promising much

 

[Iron Man]

I just finished watching Season 2 of Buffy. It took me a while, but I'm finally seeing why it's so popular. The Angelus arc was fantastic. I didn't see Jenny's death coming at all, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from either part of "Becoming". When Angel got his soul back, I thought it was going to be a nice happy ending...then Buffy stabbed him and threw him into Hell. I can't wait to see where all this goes.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

I just finished watching Season 2 of Buffy. It took me a while, but I'm finally seeing why it's so popular. The Angelus arc was fantastic. I didn't see Jenny's death coming at all, and I couldn't tear my eyes away from either part of "Becoming". When Angel got his soul back, I thought it was going to be a nice happy ending...then
Buffy stabbed him and threw him
into Hell. I can't wait to see where
all this goes.

Oh, don't worry, the best is yet to come, s3 just a tiny bit better than 2 which is saying quite something! I so envy you being able to watch it all virgin, i would gladly go to lacuna if I could so I could do the same.

No, seasons 6&7 aren't as good as 1-3 but still have some stunning eps. And I'm glad Buffy and Dawn get to live happily ever after, don't want her dying at 21, want her to be the exceptional slayer

BARGAINING 1&2

Spoiler

The Good;
SMG is just wonderful as the Buffybot, credit it to her that she can remember all the dialogue at the end of the teaser. Another nice Anya/Tara scene and Dawn and Buffy reunited is always a joy. Love the way that the Buffybot is such a hit at Dawn's parent/teacher day. Possibly the coolest Spike moment ever when he kicks the Hellion off the bike.
The Bad;
The Hellions are deeply stupid. There's only 15 of them and they appear to be killable by conventional methods (some are even human)so why don't the SDPD just shoot them? The fat vamp seems to burn awfully fast, Dru and Darla on Angel take far longer.
Best line;
Xander; "House o' chicks relax, I am a man, I have a tool!"
Women good/men bad;
Razor is nastily misogynist so Tara let's him have her axe. Good for her!
Jeez!;
Will kills Bambi! Even though she's a machine you feel so sorry for the Buffybot. The sight of Buffy's corpse is upsetting but not as much as her crawling out of her grave.
Kinky dinky;
The Hellions threaten to rape the Scoobies.
Captain Subtext;
Love the Willow/Tara house. In the comics Willow talks of the pair being tempted of just taking Dawn and the three moving out of Sunnydale, forming their own little family. Spike can't be with Buffy so he takes the closest thing he can get, babysitting Dawn. Xander appears to like the Backstreet Boys? Hmmmmm? Dawn and the Buffybot, awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww! Xander and Giles hug at the airport. Xander says he needs more male friends.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out: Willow
Buffy: 16
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 8
Will: 6
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;1
Kills: 1 vamp for Spike and one for the Buffybot. One fawn and one demon for Will. A demon each for Xander and Anya. Tara's first kill plus 3 demons for Buffy
Buffy: 96 vamps, 35 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 1 demon +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 3 vamps and 2 demon
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon

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: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
89;

Total number of scoobies: goodbye Giles and goodbye Buffybot so 6
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Spike

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot: no although Razor has a gun he never uses it.
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; good or bad? (new column to handle one of the most pressing questions of the series)
Spike is fighting alongside the scoobs and taking care of Dawn but also pouring scorn on the schooling system and thinking the chaos and destruction looks fun.
Questions and observations;
Very long 'previously on Buffy', the series now very much rooted in it's own mythology. Love Tara the vamp hunter, note she feels the need to get a leather coat for her warrior princess phase. Note Giles and Spike actually share a joke together. The numbered shirts appear which I actually didn't notice first time around. Buffy looks to have put a little weight on whilst dead and it suits her. The Buffybot remarks 'I don't eat', deliberate joke? Dawn is back in touch with her dad. The Buffybot appears to be breaking her programming and almost becoming a real girl. Check out the scene where the Scoobies are saying goodbye to Giles at the airport, it looks like Spike is sitting behind Giles (JM's stand in?).
One good thing is that they kept Dawn. She wasn't that popular with the fans and it would have been very easy to write her out, she would have simply gone to live with her dad and she and Buffy could have had an offscreen reunion as Buffy and Angel do. But they kept her and the show is all the better for it. Dawn not only gives Buffy the will to live but she seems to just instinctively be able to sense that she's back and find her amidst the chaos. Once again it's implied that that there's a deeper connection between the 2 sisters.
Surely if Willow can fix a decpitated Buffybot she can fix a limbless one? So what happens to the bot? I remember reading an excellent fanfic where they repair it and leave it hooked up to an electricity supply in a remote cave, programmed to come to the rescue if anything ever happens to the Scoobs (very 'Demon with a glass hand' if you ever watched The Outer Limits). http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3046178/1/The_Sentry To judge by Buffy's appearance when she comes out of the grave she dyes her hair. You notice that the 'power shot' at the end of the opening titles isn't actually Buffy at all, it's actually the Buffybot.
I almost stopped watching Buffy at this point, I was so disappointed in these opening eps but I'm glad I kept with it.
Marks out of 10; 6/10

*No, seasons 6&7 aren't as good as 1-3 but still have some stunning eps. And I'm glad Buffy and Dawn get to live happily ever after, don't want her dying at 21, want her to be the exceptional slayer

THROUGH THE LOOKING GLASS

Spoiler

The Good;
Angel sees his hair in the mirror for the first time, you always wondered? (I guess Dru always fixed Spike's?) Lovely reveal of WR&H, very clever. Also like the double bluff of Cordy meeting the Groo. All the scenes with Lorne's family are hysterical.
The Bad;
Aside from that this seems to be a case of 6 characters rushing about in search of a plot?
Best line:
Lorne's mother; "No longer do the dance of joy Numfar"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Angel still enjoys telling the story of cutting Lindsey's arm off, still some bad feeling there obviously.
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
Angel actually enjoys playing the hero, revelling in his (literal) moment in the sun.
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tattoo; 6,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage: Wes, Gunn and Lorne again
Cordy: 5
Angel: 9
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out: Lorne again
Cordy: 10
Angel: 12
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 2
Kills: Angel kills 2 demons
Cordy: 5 vamps, 1½ demons
Angel; 26 vamps, 35 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 3 demons
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 7 vamps+ 2 demons.
Fang Gang go evil: almost Angel but not quite
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang: demon Angel
Cordy: 2
Angel: 7

Characters killed:
37
Recurring characters killed;
6;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
4, Angel, Cordy, Wes and Gunn

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 2 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast
Angel: 2; Buffy and Darla
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Cordy is expected to Com-shuk with the Groo, as Gunn observes "Sounds dirty to me". Obvious sexual attraction between Queen C and Groo, Lorne asks should he call the guards back with their cuffs? Cordy once again in a bikini despite saying she doesn't want to seem 'too easy' for the Groo. Cordy observes it's along time since she Com-shuked and remarks on her propensity to be impregnated by demons "Do I send out some sort of 'Com-Shuk me' vibe?" There's a great t-shirt slogan for you. Even the Groo of course is part-demon but can only mate with humans.
Captain Subtext;
Huge beauty and beast vibe between Angel and Fred, Fangel right from the start. Lorne also seems enamoured of Groo so more evidence for the bi vibe. Wes keeps a picture of Cordy in his wallet
Know the face, different character; 2
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 15
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Here's the Groo, yay! After being abused and pushed around for the last 3 eps Cordy is now a Queen as she always wanted to be. Some beautiful small details like Cordy's little finger gesture when she tells the constable who wants the 'Most high princess' to feast on AI's blood "You're most high if you think that's going to happen!". Also Cordy reaching out to embrace her friends who walk past her to the food, shades of Indianna Jones (except Angel who makes for the mirror). Wes' idea of a list of demands sent to the Princess sounds reminiscent of Magna Carta.
Marks out of 10; 7/10
*

*

 

[Donut]

I guess there goes those in spoiler tags. You could learn a thing or two from Iron Mans short & to the point review

 

[The Question]

I always thought the point of making reviews is that people want to read or watch them.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

I guess there goes those in spoiler tags. You could learn a thing or two from Iron Mans short & to the point review

(Straps on her hiking boots and makes for the high ground) originally sent from my I-phone so couldn't do the spoiler tags, now corrected so if you want to read or watch you can and if you don't, you don'tt:

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Going to have to hurry these along as I've got my deployment orders;

AFTER LIFE

Spoiler

The Good;
Buffy rediscovers her life and confesses to Spike the truth
The Bad;
Not bad but lacks lustre
Best line;
Anya (on a books and coffee joint becoming just a coffee joint) "It's like evolution only without the getting better part"
Women good/men bad;
Jeez!;
Spike self-harms a recurring theme in the series.
Kinky dinky;
Xander says he feels the need for some 'vigorous doing'.
Captain Subtext;
Buffy glances at Joyce's picture. Was she with her in heaven? Dawn bathes and dresses Buffy although you wonder how she didn't notice her bloodied knuckles before? Contrast the hug Buffy gives Dawn in 'Bargaining' and the one she gives her at the end here, obviously she's adapting to life again and has rediscovered her love for her sister.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out: Anya, Dawn, Xander
Buffy: 16
Giles: 10
Cordy: 6
Xander: 9
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;2
Dawn; 1
Kills: 1 demon for Buffy
Buffy: 96 vamps, 36 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 1 demon +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 3 vamps and 2 demon
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon

Scoobies go evil: Anya (who is VERY Evil Dead when she's possessed) Dawn, Xander
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3

Recurring characters killed: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
89;

Total number of scoobies: 6
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Spike

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; good or bad?
Spike hints at Darkwillow. His confrontation with Xander is entirely justified. Buffy starts once again to turn to Spike
Questions and observations;
According to Dawn Joyce used to say 'Wash your neck or plant potatoes'. Not sure if it's deliberate but Kristine Sutherland is from Idaho 'The Potato State' so maybe this is something she really did say? Here we have Dawn taking care of Buffy to a huge extent, emotionally and physically. Great scene where the rest of the Scoobs are crowding Buffy and she tells them all to back off.
Spike claims to have clawed his way out of a coffin but we see no evidence of this in 'Fool for Love' or 'Lies my parents told me'.
Marks out of 10; 6/10 the season still trying to find it's feet

FLOODED

Spoiler

The Good;
Special marks to MT for her wonderful acting when Dawn gets soaked, cracks me up every time. Love Buffy at the bank and the Nerds rear their heads. Wonderful Buffy/Giles scene.
The Bad;
Why does the demon need the Nerds help to find Buffy? How can Warren appease them by offering Buffy's address, it's not like she's that hard to find.
Best line;
Dawn; "That's a weird place for a horn" (adopting Willow's bashful virgin shtick)
Women good/men bad;
Warren shows his true colours, giving the demon Buffy's address. Warren, Jonathon and Andrew are prepared to sacrifice each other to the demon.
Jeez!;
Kinky dinky;
As well as 'Chicks, chicks, chicks' one of the Nerds ambitions is 'hypnotise Buffy' and turn her into their 'willing sex bunny' a staple of some of the creepier fanfiction out there (The Erotic Mind Control Archive anyone?)Jonathon thinks Buffy is hot. Andrew seems to fancy Christina Ricci but Warren refuses to build him a robot version. Willow hints she slept with Riley.
Captain Subtext;
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6 Buffy says that saving the world is something she's good at unlike finances
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out: as Giles comments he knows he's back in America when he gets knocked unconscious.
Buffy: 16
Giles: 11
Cordy: 6
Xander: 9
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;2
Dawn; 1
Kills: 1 demon for Buffy
Buffy: 96 vamps, 37 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 1 demon +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 3 vamps and 2 demon
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3

Recurring characters killed: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
89;

Total number of scoobies: 7, Giles back, Dawn helps with research for the first time but doesn't help with the demon fighting so we'll not include her just yet.
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Spike, Giles

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; good or bad?
Spike 'jokes' about killing the Scoobies.
Dawn in peril;
I figure at least 4 times so far.
Dawn the bashful virgin; 1
Questions and observations;
What the hell is 'The gorilla thing' the nerds want to do? Buffy tells the security guard that guns are never useful forshadowing the events at the end of the season as do Willow's hints to Giles that he shouldn't annoy her. Anya's idea of charging for Slaying is silly but couldn't Buffy rob the vamps/demons as well as killing them?
So, big question, what do Buffy and Angel get up to during their reunion? Well, not sex as Angel keeps his soul but you wonder? Dawn is now 15, the same age as Buffy was before she became the Slayer. She compares the supernatural to sex as she says that if she doesn't learn it from Buffy and co she'll learn it all on the street. Jetpacks are one of the Nerds aims which they'll eventually achieve. Giles comments that there are others who can bring back the dead as we see from WR&H in 'To Shanshu in LA'. Dawn wears another number t-shirt.
Marks out of 10; 6/10 good enough but not great

THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE PLZTH GRB

Spoiler

The Good;
The basket scene alone makes this wonderful. All told it's pretty good stuff though, a revolution in three eps.
The Bad;
It seems rather contrite that the entire world of Pylea is ruled by this small band of priests and their tiny army.
Best line:
Wes; "Why do people keep putting me in charge of things?"
Gunn; (exasperated) "I have NO idea!". In many ways Gunn is the straight man of Angel Investigations, constantly staggered at the rest of the gangs grand notions.
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Severed Lorne's head, Pylea has a 'mutilation chamber'? Everyone keeps spitting on poor Lorne. The Groo sets his own hand on fire to intinidate Angel before they fight. He feels pain but just overcomes it!
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche; Lovely heart to heart between Wes and Angel over the fireside but we later learn that Wes doesn't necessarily believe it, he just needs Angel to.
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tattoo; 6,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage: Angel by Groo
Cordy: 5
Angel: 10
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out: Angel after the fight in the cave
Cordy: 10
Angel: 13
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 1
Kills: 3 demons for Angel, 3 for Wes, 2 for Gunn and 1 for Cordy
Cordy: 5 vamps, 2½ demons
Angel; 26 vamps, 38 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 6 demons
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 7 vamps+ 4 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed:
37
Recurring characters killed;
6;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
4, Angel, Cordy, Wes and Gunn

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 2 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast
Angel: 2; Buffy and Darla
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Cordy touches the Groo 'by accident' in the dark. She refers to Groo and her on their wedding night having a 'shared burden lifting' but denies that she has much experience. She doesn't like the idea of Com-shukking in front of the priests. The priests tell Groo that if Angel should win he will ravage and defile Cordy again and again until she has no more screaming in her.
Captain Subtext;
Do the Covenant represent the Taliban? Check out the slave-girls expression when Cordy orders her to strip naked. Also check out that Lorne's eyes flicker open to watch. Lorne observes that Groo works out when Cordy rubs him up against him. When Cordy tells Groo she loves him Angel is a little afronted that she doesn't say she loves him too. Gunn's speech at the end neatly sums up post American Civil War history.
Know the face, different character; 2
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
To judge by his remarks when he and Wes are going to be executed Gunn is a Christian who believes when he dies he'll go to Jesus. CC can scream like a Classic Dr Who companion (as can Dawn, see Shadow). Angel doesn't snore. In demon form he rather resembles the Incredible Hulk. Lorne doesn't have 5 toes on each foot although we don't know how many he does have. Wes is faced with the General's classic dilemma of having to sacrifice some of his men for the greater good. How do they get Angel's car out of Caritas? Willow at the end is heartbreaking, how much can Alysson Hannigan emote with just her expression?
Marks out of 10; 8/10 good end to an enjoyable arc but you're keen to get back to LA.

HEARTHROB

Spoiler

The Good;
Great stuff, once again you feel the Buffy writers are making fun of the whole endless vamp love concept (Twilight/True Blood). Also Lorne's version of 'I left my heart in San Francisco' is WONDERFUL, one of the top three Lorne songs.
The Bad;
How many times can we see the same courtyard even if it is redressed?
Best line:
Angel (after fighting the demon monks) "Should have gone to Vegas"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tattoo; yep, when she bends over to pick up the fire extinguisher during the fight in the hotel lobby
7,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 10
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 10
Angel: 13
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 1
Kills: 2 vamps for Angel and one each for Wes and Gunn. Amazingly this is the first vamp Wes ever kills in four years in the Buffyverse. We don't know how many vamps/demons AI killed in the summer but I'll give them one each
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 28 vamps, 38 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 7 demons+1 vamp
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 5 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed: the dude Darla kills and a couple of people at the party
40
Recurring characters killed;
6;
Total number of Angel Investigations: Fred not part of the gang yet, still hiding in her room
4, Angel, Cordy, Wes and Gunn

Angel Investigations shot: only Angelus by Holtz and he doesn't count
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 3(?) ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis(?)
Angel: 2; Buffy and Darla
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Gunn refers to 'doin it with the demons' but doesn't mean what we think (except for Cordy who regularly seems to 'do it' with various supernatural entities). Speaking of which she's close enough to Phantom Dennis to strip naked in front of him and get some loufa action in the bathtub with him. Cordy thinks her new necklace brings out her breasts, Gunn certainly seems to think so to judge by his expression. Nice 'screwed Darla' gag. Darla says Angelus made her pay for leaving him in an extreme S&M style. Wes says Angel doesn't need a lapdance.
Captain Subtext;
Hugs all around when Angel comes back, the events of season 2 well and truly forgotten. James and Elizabeth (both regal names) are obviously a proto Spike and Dru (maybe Darla and Angelus needed another couple to make a four at bridge?).
Know the face, different character; 2
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Love to see more of AI in the summer without Angel, they obviously kept busy. Also would have liked to have seen how Gunn coped with a solo case whilst everyone else was at Buffy's funeral. Can't they buy Fred a whiteboard so that she doesn't have to write on the wall? Does Fred really have to invite Angel into the room she occupies in his hotel? Or is Angel just bluffing to reassure her and make her feel at home? Note Angel takes the time to put his coat on before going vamp hunting. James says that Angelus knows no poetry, well he liked Spike's. Or Angel did? Holst is referred to as the foremost vamp hunter, what about the Slayer of the age? Vamps don't really seem to have love as much as twisted obsession but not having souls they can't appreciate that. Cordy's right of course, the human thing for Angel to do is mourn Buffy but continue his life. Surely James can be killed by fire or decapitation? Nice to know that when the chips are down you can rob the handicapped guy of his crutches and it's all ok.
Marks out of 10; 8/10

 

[pyromaniac]

Well, Donut and the exasperated put outs - at least Lorenzo takes to you like a water rolling off a duck's back. Your ploys have failed to rein the craziness in.

Although I tend to skip over the numbers as they mean nothing to me, and uh the shameless plugging of fanfic sex candy, it's interesting and commendable that Lorenzo invests her too much time into writing these reviews. It's just a unique style. At first I coudln't believe that it was your handiwork. But how do you do it, quantifying these data like that - do you actually total up the number of Buffy's kills to 96 vamps (and counting) and how long do you spend on these things? And how can you write out your piece just from your phone?

Keep 'em coming.

By the way, a word of note. Angel can't physically enter Fred's room because she's made it her own - private and personal. A library, a supermarket, that's another story as it's public and shared. There is no singular ownership. See what I mean?

 

[Iron Man]

Season 3 has started off really strong. Faith has just arrived and I really enjoyed her introduction, although I wish Kakistos hadn't been such an easy kill considering how formidable Giles described him as being. I liked the way the group didn't just accept Buffy's return and it's good to see Joyce playing a bigger role too.

Plus, "Anne" brought one of my favourite moments of the series so far:

Demon: Who are you?
Slave #1: No one.
Demon: Who are you?
Slave #2: No one.
Demon: Who are you?
Buffy: I'm Buffy, the Vampire Slayer. And you are?

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Well, Donut and the exasperated put outs - at least Lorenzo takes to you like a water rolling off a duck's back. Your ploys have failed to rein the craziness in.

Although I tend to skip over the numbers as they mean nothing to me, and uh the shameless plugging of fanfic sex candy, it's interesting and commendable that Lorenzo invests her too much time into writing these reviews. It's just a unique style. At first I coudln't believe that it was your handiwork. But how do you do it, quantifying these data like that - do you actually total up the number of Buffy's kills to 96 vamps (and counting) and how long do you spend on these things? And how can you write out your piece just from your phone?

Keep 'em coming.

By the way, a word of note. Angel can't physically enter Fred's room because she's made it her own - private and personal. A library, a supermarket, that's another story as it's public and shared. There is no singular ownership. See what I mean?

NOTHING can rein in my craziness! That said these reviews would be easier to do if they would give me something sharp to write with....

Can't take credit, this format was 'inspired' by an author called Keith Topping who wrote the Buffy and Angel fan bible episode guides 'Slayer' and 'Hollywood Vampire'. They're over the top because they're my goodbye to fandom, after these they'll be nothing left for me to say. Wrote these over YEARS, rewatching the series on DVD and counting each kill etc as I went. Can post from my Iphone although the full range of stuff (smilies, spoiler tags etc) aren't available

I find fanfic fascinating, what people write and why. They say the internet has helped democratise the world allowing everyone to express themselves and reach people all over the world without having to meet the approval of a newspaper editor or book publisher. And literally folks can let their imaginations (and perversions-is there a difference?) go wild, stories where TV Buffy meets and befriends Movie Buffy on patrol one night, where the Scoobies appear on The Jerry Springer Show to sort out their relationship difficulties and where we can see alternate worlds where Buffy&co are all evil vamps and Darla, Spike, Dru, The Mayor and Adam are all the heroic good guys

Yeah I buy your theory, Fred's living in the room but not paying rent and she's made it her own so Angel does need permission even if he owns the hotel.

As for Anne, yeah it's a real punch the air moment! Nothing is so edifying as seeing arrogance shot down. On a larger scale it's Buffy accepting her destiny and everything that comes with it, including her much shortened life span, she never again tries to escape her calling

And yeah, as Spike and Dru brought season 2 to life so Faith will for season 3 and beyond. It is good that the gang have difficulties bringing Buffy back into the fold, there's no reset button as there might be on a lesser show. Frankly my opinion is that the more Joyce there is in an episode the better it is!t:

LIFE SERIAL

Spoiler

The Good;
Buffy in the workplace, funny...
The Bad;
... but ultimately a bit depressing
Best line;
Spike; "C'mon, someones got to stake me"
Women good/men bad;
The guys on Xander's building site are pretty sexist towards 'Little Britney' even though she saved their lives.
Jeez!;
Shouldn't Buffy make sure she rescues all the kittens?
Kinky dinky;
About the weirdest fanfic I ever read had Buffy having sex with the mummy hand. In the follow up story she lures it out of her using a magic charm then smashes it to atoms with her troll hammer (although surely all she needed to do was go upstairs and start the cycle again?). Buffy thinks that the candle buyers' girl isn't going to sleep with him whatever scent he chooses. Anya pictures HERSELF naked when selling, talk about 'sales figures' (the corset top Buffy wears to university would certainly do the trick! And check out the stripper heels she crushes Giles' specs with). Andrew thinks that Scully from the X-files 'Wants him so bad' and envies Jonathon that Buffy 'touched him'. The Nerds find free porn at the end. Lots of gags about Jonathon's 'magic bone'.
Captain Subtext;
Willow is a 'breast girl'. Andrew is hesitant to hold hands but as Warren observes you know what homophobia REALLY means. Spike tells Buffy she's a creature of the night, we'll later find that's true. Anya and Dawn dance together.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 16
Giles: 11
Cordy: 6
Xander: 9
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;2
Dawn; 1
Kills: 3 demons for Buffy
Buffy: 96 vamps, 40 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 5 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 1 demon +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 3 vamps and 2 demon
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3

Recurring characters killed: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
89;

Total number of scoobies: 6
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Spike, Giles

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; good or bad?
Dawn in peril; 4
Dawn the bashful virgin; 1
Questions and observations;
The woman who asks for the mummy hand reminds me of Elle McPherson. The introduction of Clem, here unnamed. If I ever write a TV show I'm going to include a box of kittens in every script (I understand Marish Carey does the same thing?). The Nerds testing Buffy is reminiscent of 'Lois and Clark'. For my money Roger Moore is the greatest James Bond and Dalton the 3rd best after Brosnan. The foreman refer to 'Gidget' as did Joyce in Prophecy Girl. Britney of course, huge now, all conquering at the time. Warren's right about the o'clock thing. Connery is Warren's favourite Bond, interesting that he has a reputation for being misogynist?
Marks out of 10; 8/10

ALL THE WAY

Spoiler

The Good;
Our little Dawnie is all grown up. But maybe not as much as she'd like to think.
The Bad;
Would Dawn really consider giving herself to a boy she'd known 5 minutes? Probably not, maybe she was going to give him the pencil all along
Best line;
Buffy; "You were parking with a vamp?"
Women good/men bad;
Old man's creepy, especially referring to himself as daddy. One of the vamps says the girls were 'Asking for it'
Jeez!;
Kinky dinky;
When Xander remarks "I'm going to marry that girl" Buffy thinks he's referring to her 15 year old sister. Dawn's first kiss. She has a thing for guys in jackets which we'll see again in 'Him'. She demonstrates the same poor taste in men as Buffy and Joyce, it obviously runs in the family. Anya dresses up as one of Charlie's Angels (Farrah hair) and mentions that she and Xander play sex games. Anya and Dawn dance the dance of 'capitalist superiority' together and Willow joins Xander and Anya later. When Buffy suggests that Spike wear a collar he suggests a leather one. Buffy suggests that Xander used to pay girls to date him, Xanders reply of 'Define date?' brings up some interesting questions, maybe Riley, Giles and Angel weren't the only ones to frequent 'Tavern Wenches'? Dawn the voyeur once again, interrupting a courting couple who call her a "Perv". Dawn seems to like guys with cars, wonder what she thought of Xander's in The Zeppo. Dawn denies she's a 'kiss ****'. Anya wants obscenely muscular male strippers for her hen night, a shame we never get to see her's or Xander's (although I've read at least one very funny fanfic in that regard http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3106151/1/The_Last_Night). Willow wonders if a kissing couple at The Bronze dressed as Luke Skywalker and Princess Leia realise that their characters are brother and sister?
Captain Subtext;
The 'Willow-uses-too-much-magic' subtext now becomes a text. Tara says she is 'not really one for the timber' suggesting she's (technically at least) a virgin. When Xander announces his engagement look at Willow's expression, just a little hint of longing. Willow refers to herself as a 'hot mama-yama'.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 16
Giles: 11
Cordy: 6
Xander: 9
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;2
Dawn; 1
Kills: Dawn nails her first vamp, yay! She really is a heartbreaker (or heartstaker?) Good night for Giles who kills 3, 2 for Buffy (love the car door decapitation) and 2 for Spike presuming he kills the second one that attacks him?
Buffy: 98 vamps, 40 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 1 demon +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 5 vamps and 2 demon
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3

Recurring characters killed: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths; the creepy old man, the car driver alive as far as we know.
90;

Total number of scoobies: 7
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Spike, Giles

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; good or bad?
Charging to the rescue of Dawn but then he's always liked her
Dawn in peril; 5 courting with a vamp
Dawn the bashful virgin; 2 Tara saves Dawn from Anya's sex talk.
Questions and observations;
A fun ep, we see that Dawnie won't be an adorable moppet forever, Joyce's little girl is starting to grow up. One of the best things about the later seasons of Buffy is getting to watch Dawn grow up and blossom, shame we never get to see her go to her prom, graduate etc And as usual with the Summer's girls her taste in men is a disaster. Buffy still leaves it to Giles to chastise Dawn but he knows that eventually it's something she must do herself. Note contrary to what Dawn says later Buffy doesn't want Dawn to go out on Halloween, she wants to spend time with her and almost seems jealous of Janice.
Marks out of 10; 8/10 because I'm a sucker for Dawn stories

THAT VISION THING

Spoiler

The Good;
A real one for Lilah fans, our first sight of Skip and some great acting by CC
The Bad;
The brain thing looks fake. It also seems all very unnecessarily complicated to rescue Billy
Best line:
CC (about Gavin) "Ok, Satan's toady but that's a NICE suit!"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
You so feel for Cordy as she suffers. Not so much the rebar through the head but Darla slicing her hand makes me wince every time.
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
Darla's "Men are such babies" remark, about some things yes.
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tattoo; oh yes
8
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 10
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out: Cordy and Lorne
Cordy: 11
Angel: 13
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 2
Kills: 2 demons for Angel
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 28 vamps, 40 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 7 demons+1 vamp
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 5 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed:
37
Recurring characters killed;
6;
Total number of Angel Investigations: Fred doing research and taking care of Cordy, now part of the gang
5, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn, Fred

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: I'm going to add Phantom Dennis who Cordy will later tell us is 'good with a loufa'.
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis(?)
Angel: 2; Buffy and Darla
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
'Dick' and 'dong' in the car on the way to get the key. Lilah paws Angel when he's in her office and when he's violent with her it actually seems to turn her on all the more, she keeps pawing. Fred is 'forking with Gunn'.
Captain Subtext;
Lorne loves The Sound of Music. But who doesn't?
Know the face, different character; 3
Bob Morrisey who plays the demon Dr is also the mad guy who accosts Dawn outside the Magic Shop in The Real Me.
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Angel threatens Lilah and Gavin. Wes and Gunn are quite prepared to kill Billy if WR&H try anything smart. Despite her tough girl image Lilah seems to be genuinely afraid at the end of the ep.
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
CC impressed by Gavin's clothes, what a shame she missed most of season 5 when AI can put their wardrobe on WR&H expense account. I wonder if the makers of The Matrix say this ep? They certainly steal the key gag for the second film. Fred meets Phantom Dennis although she also feels the need to introduce herself in a later ep.
Marks out of 10; 6/10, pretty good, not totally brilliant

THAT OLD GANG OF MINE (anyone else keep expecting Gunn to break into a number from Sweet Charity?)

Spoiler

The Good;
Angel apologising to Merl is hilarious but this is Gunn's ep. Love Fred singing at Caritas and she shows some steel for the first time.
The Bad;
Evidence bags. Hmmm? Are we on CSI or something? Weird how they appear this week as an important part of the plot but then we never see them again.
Best line:
Fred; "Oh. Oh! Ohhhhhh!" (all in the delivery)
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
The killing of the balancing entity is particularly gruesome
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
Human's bad, demons, well if not good not inherently evil
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tattoo; 8,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 10
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 11
Angel: 13
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 2
Kills: one demon for Gunn
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 28 vamps, 40 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 7 demons+1 vamp
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 6 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 6

Characters killed:
40
Recurring characters killed; goodbye Merl. Gunn is still haunted by killing his sister which you can't blame him for.
7;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
5, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat; Gunn with a shotgun. He seems to object to the gang using Uzis but under his leadership they didn't hesitate to use a flamethrower.
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: Angel and the Furies
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
It's implied that Angel beds the three Furies (genuine characters from Greek mythology and very popular on TV at the time also turning up on Xena and Charmed, Piper even becomes one for a while). Singly or all three sisters at the same time? (Every man's ultimate fantasy? Or would that include their milfy mom joining in as well?) He's now happy to do so as after Darla he knows he won't lose his soul because he doesn't love them. Of course this is what we all assume. I read a very funny fanfic once where we learn that the Furies actually dig Angel due to his exquisite foot massage technique.
Captain Subtext;
CC describes Fred as 'sweet and adorable'. Lorne describes Gunn as 'sweetie'. The Furies tell Cordelia she is not equipped to pay this debt but I once read a rather good fanfic on the subject which ended in the words "MMMMmmmmm Cordelia!". http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3037269/1/Mmmmmmmmmmmm (non-adult)What exactly did Rondell flee from in Florida? Who is the girl who trusted him to the end? Someone he betrayed or someone who he couldn't save?
Know the face, different character; 3
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Wes saves Fred in Caritas. Wes' new image makes him look like some form of student teacher or something. Surely shooting Lorne would do him no harm if cutting his head off doesn't kill him? One demon keeps saying "Oh god", the other says "He's not listening", weird that demons refer to god.
Now, are Rondell and the guys right or wrong? When they raid Caritas they kill at least one vamp and a babyeating demon, it's hard to say that's really wrong? The problem is they don't distinguish as AI do. The ending is probably as good as you can get in this dilemma. Interesting that Wes warns Gunn about divided loyalties a subject he's going to learn all about later in the season.
Marks out of 10; 7/10

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

ONCE MORE WITH FEELING

Spoiler

The Good;
All of it. My favourites would have to be Tara's song and 'Going through the motions' although Anya's solo is a belter. Always leaving them wanting more, certainly true of the Spuffers in the final scene. Also love Tara's uncontrollable jazz hands during 'I've got a theory' and the ballet of morning in the Summer's house.
The Bad; ? I think the weakest of all the songs is Giles' which I didn't really dig. No real fan of Spike's either.
Best line;
Giles; "Buffy needs backup"
Women good/men bad;
Xander's witches theory which he rapidly recants.
Jeez!;
Dawn getting the sack isn't nice.
Kinky dinky;
Sweet wants to claim Dawn as his child bride but Buffy volunteers to go instead. She's not interested in the handsome hostage she rescues in the graveyard. Parking ticket girl isn't wearing any underwear. Anya mentions that Xander's 'penis got diseases from a Shumash tribe' which might be the best lyric in history. Dawn's superb dancing with Sweet and his minions is extremely suggestive, MT really starting to become noticeably voluptuous as well as tall. Dawn's story about giving birth to a Pterodactyl must have pleased the Got-ficcers. Love Anya's two-piece nightie, Xander loving it in the night when he's 'warm in her tight....tight embrace' which he also describes as 'firm and supple' later. Buffy goes to 'pump Spike for information'. She ends up straddling him in a grave.
Captain Subtext;
Tara jokes that she's cured and 'wants the boys' who eye her up (don't blame them, Tara's corset certainly helps her already formidable cleavage). The end of her song where Willow's head disappears downwards as Tara floats is the filthiest bit of Buffy for, oh at least half a season. I'm sure Joss must have been tempted to do "You make me complete. You make me com..." then cut back to the Magic Shop but even the dumbest censor must have been able to spot that. Willow says she's not 'big with the butch'. Tara sings about 'Spreading beneath her Willow tree'. Dawn thinks Willow and Tara together is romantic and that she 'does know about this stuff'. Hmmmm? Of course the Willow/Tara sex scene is arguably rape, Willow's spell has interfered with Tara's mind and without it's influence she probably wouldn't consent to having sex with her. Sweet is 'tempted' to take Xander as his 'Queen' (well you know those Broadway types!) Anya is still a little jealous of Buffy saying Xander flees to her when things get tough.
Guantanamo Bay;
Spike wants to make the minion "Sing"
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out: Dawn comes-to on the pool table at the Bronze
Buffy: 16
Giles: 11
Cordy: 6
Xander: 9
Will: 5
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;2
Dawn; 2
Kills: one of the trio of vamps Buffy kills in the graveyard has the distinction of being her hundredth vamp (killed onscreen at least) plus their demon master
Buffy: 101 vamps, 41 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 1 demon +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 5 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 5 vamps and 2 demon
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 6
Giles: 3
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 3

Recurring characters killed: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths; 3 burnt to death by their dancing
93;

Total number of scoobies: 7
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Giles, Anya, Tara, Spike

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; good or bad?
Spike saves the day and earns his kiss
Dawn in peril; 6 as Buffy says "If Dawn's in trouble it must be Tuesday"
Dawn the bashful virgin; 5 horrified at the thought of being a demon bride.
Questions and observations;
Longest ever ep of Buffy. Contary to popular belief not the first musical ep for a fantasy series, Xena did it first (the terrific 'The Bitter Suite') and arguably Ally McBeal too. But altogether splendid. Note that the newspaper has the city council denying that monsters are involved, SD's open secret apparent. Again note that Buffy sings that 'Through the smoke she calls to me' as she makes her way to the Bronze, once again some sort of stronger link between Dawn and Buffy is suggested. Ironically in an ep where Tara takes Willow to task for magic abuse it's Xander who screws up everything. He is never brought to book for this, just as he's never called to account for his actions in Becoming Pt 2. In fairness it's hard to pick a Scooby who hasn't abused the supernatural and caused the deaths of innocent people? Note the look Tara gives Willow when she starts crying at Buffy's revelation, their rift forgotten.
One question, what is Buffy drawing in her notepad when Giles summons her for training in the teaser?
Marks out of 10; 10/10, legendary!

TABULA RASA

Spoiler

The Good;
All great, emotional turmoil mixed with side-splitting humour at every turn. Especially love Anya and the bunnies and the beautiful ending song
The Bad;
The Loanshark is a funny idea poorly realised (foreshadowed in Restless as is Giles thinking Spike's his son). Works better in the comics although he comes to a sticky end.
Best line;
Giles "Welcome to the nancy tribe"
Women good/men bad;
Spike refers to Anya as tarty and a trollope. Anya's woman's intuition needs work.
Jeez!;
Once again the creature we don't see behind the counter is the scariest of all, just like in Forever. Seeing Buffy get kicked on the ground also isn't nice.
Kinky dinky;
Spike and Buffy kiss again. And the Spuffers did rejoice! Spike is 'Randy Giles' and dresses just as he did in Restless. Anya describes Spike and Giles as 'ruggedly handsome'. Willow in her towel. Dawn seems to like Xander helping her down the ladder.
Captain Subtext;
Even when amnesiac Willow and Tara sense they're lovers and Buffy and Dawn sense they're sisters (amnesiac Buffy knows amnesiac Dawn for all of one minute and they're already both enjoying Buffy stroking Dawn's hair in the traditional Summers' way) . How funny would it have been if it was the other way around and both pairs came to each other's conclusion? Check out Dawn's expression when Willow tells her she's 'Kinda gay' (as she remarked of VampWillow). Interesting it's 'kinda' giving another hint of bi-Willow. Willow and Xander also sense their affection for one another. BUT Anya and Xander don't, she's actually attracted to Giles (and still hugely capitalist). Maybe Anya is actually in love with the idea of Xander rather than the guy himself? Even more interesting is Giles' affection for her. Anya looking for a daddy figure (like D'Hoffryn?) and Giles transferring his fatherly love for Buffy to Anya?
Willow and Tara break up just as another relationship blossoms. Giles threatens to put Spike across his knee (well Buffy already has him spanking Dawn). Spike refers to Giles as 'nancy' and Giles welcomes him to 'the nancy tribe'. Note Spike seems to desperately want to be like Angel (because Buffy loves Angel or does he wants Buffy only because Angel loves her?) Spike refer to Gile's car as 'penis shaped' but then they hug. We never meet Spike's dad, divorce taboo in Victorian society so he may have died young (much more common), perhaps Spike harbours feelings of resentment towards him as his relationship with Angelus might suggest?
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out: everyone but Xander also faints
Buffy: 17
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 11
Will: 6
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;3
Dawn; 2
Kills: 2 vamps for Buffy, 3 for Spike and 1 for Xander
Buffy: 103 vamps, 41 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 1 demon +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 8 vamps and 2 demon
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies: the whole gang go amnesiac
Buffy: 7
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1

Recurring characters killed: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
93

Total number of scoobies: 7 (but not for long!). Note how keen Dawn is to participate in the Scooby meeting, slowly becoming a full member of the gang.
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Tara, Spike, Giles

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; good or bad?
Amnesiac Spike doesn't seem to realise he's supposed to be evil and wants to be good. He saves Buffy again.
Dawn in peril; along with everyone else 7
Dawn the bashful virgin; 5
Questions and observations;
Teeth asks if Buffy has ever considered working as a debt collector. Well it would solve her financial problems. Tara's very right, Willow violating her mind is no joke especially after what Glory did to her. It also makes their sex whilst Tara is amnesiac virtual rape. Buffy wears her cream number she died in for the first time. Xander wears what looks like an army jacket, left over from his faux soldier days? Xander's latent insecurites are very apparent, wondering if Willow is dating his brother. But he still comes the hero in the end. Buffy's choice of 'Joan' suggests Joan of Arc. Note amnesiac Tara begins to stutter, just as she did before she befriended the Scoobs.
Marks out of 10; 9/10, suffers in comparison with OMWF but otherwise not perfect only because of the loanshark.

CARPE NOCTEM

Spoiler

The Good;
Some nice humour, especially over the whole 'Fred' thing and some nice stuff with Lilah
The Bad;
Surely Marcus notices that in his new body the heart isn't beating and he doesn't breathe?
Best line:
Cordy; "You're a eunuch"
Angel; "Hey!"
CC; "Figure of speech"
Angel; "Find another one!"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche; Much like the handicapped in Blind Date in the Buffyverse old people are EVIL! We don't expect Marcus' spell to affect Angel but it does.
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tattoo; yes, her two piece purple outfit shows it off to great effect.
9,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage: yep, Angel
Cordy: 5
Angel: 11
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out: Angel as Marcus
Cordy: 11
Angel: 14
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 2
Kills:
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 28 vamps, 40 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 7 demons+1 vamp
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 6 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang: Angel/Marcus
Cordy: 2
Angel: 7

Characters killed: the three poor guys Marcus hijacks
43
Recurring characters killed;
7;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
5, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Three in the bed sex with 2 beautiful hookers. Well, we've all been there. CC refers to Angel as a eunuch, remember she doesn't know about Darla. CC salivates over the bodybuilders but still thinks 'All men are dogs'. Gunn and Wes argue over who gets to visit the 'First Class Escorts' but CC decides she should go instead. She refers to them as 'Pretty skanky women' (does she mean 'Women who are pretty skanky' or 'Women who are skanky and pretty'? To judge by the extremely attractive girls in the opening scene they certainly live up to their companies' billing). That's a bit rich considering she wanted to prositute herself to Rusell Winters and David Nabbit, has twice been knocked up by demons, twice sold as a slave and is currently having a high old time with her ghost and his loufa.
The simmering sexual tension between Lilah and 'Angel' finally comes to a head. Much like Kate in 'The Shroud of Rahmon' Lilah finally gets what she secretly always wanted, thrown across the desk to be ravished Viking-style and bitten by Angel. Is this ever mentioned again because Lilah is actually the only one who knows about it and she has no idea it's not really Angel? And what do AI make of Lilah's forgeries plonked on Wes' desk?
Captain Subtext;
Marcus thinks Angel is gay (just look at his outfit) and Wes is 'Fred', his boyfriend.
Know the face, different character; 3
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Amy Acker's remarks about skinny models are weird as she's the thinest girl in the Buffyverse by quite some way, even more so that season 5 Buffy. Angel likes 70s Charlton Heston films, a leftover from the Manilow era? (The Omega Man has vampiric theme, plenty of blood and contains the wonderful line 'Honky paradise brother?'). The 'Nightstalker' is referred to but probably the LA serial killer rather than Kolchak. Marcus/Angel drinks martinis with Lilah, thought she was a whiskey girl?
Read a good fanfic once where Angel doesn't get his body back in the end but his soul gradually retakes control, Marcus' magic temporary and unstable. Good performace from Rance Howard as Marcus (Ron Howard's dad)
Marks out of 10; 7/10, always thought I disliked this ep but the humour makes up for a pretty weak story in many ways, actually found myself enjoying the rewatch more than I thought I would.

FREDLESS

Spoiler

The Good;
Wonderful acting by AA when Fred's finally reunited with her parents. CC and Wes' Buffy/Angel show is FANTASTIC! A good ep all around. The scene where Fred calms herself at the bus station by reciting Pi and the crazy looking homeless guy moves away from HER is the funniest scene in all of Angel and may be my favourite Angel scene ever.
The Bad;
Bit of a reach that they just let the bugs go?
Best line:
Fred; (when reunited with her parents) "I didn't mean to get so lost, I'm sorry I got so lost" (tears me up every time)
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
Bugs ain't evil and neither really is the demon Angel kills, just driven mad by the eggs in it's skull. We think Fred's parents are evil but they're not. They're also able to accept AI's rather odd lifestyle
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
9,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 11
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 11
Angel: 14
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 2
Kills: chalk up one demon bug for Fred's mum and one demon for Angel
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 28 vamps, 40 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 7 demons+1 vamp
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 6 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 7

Characters killed:
43
Recurring characters killed;
7;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
5, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Fred's mum asks if Fred is making 'movies', LA's porn industry probably bigger than it's tourism, film and music combined. Check out CCs fishnets. She seems to revel in playing nurse for the gang and later tells Angel she could 'soothe his ass off'.
Captain Subtext;
Lorne wears eyeliner which Fred's dad says men from Texas tend not to do (never been to a 'Gay Rodeo'?).
Know the face, different character; 3
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
A nice ep with Fred now part of the gang more than ever. AI are in awe of the PI the Burkle's hire who can find Fred with only a letter to go on. The Alien films are referred to with JW of course writing part 4. Fred's dad refers to Spiro Agnew who was Nixon's vice president (he was caught up in a corruption scandal before Watergate which is why Gerald Ford, the speaker of the house becomes President following Tricky Dickie's resignation). Famously his name is an anagram of 'grow a penis'. Angel likes ice cream, weird I thought he couldn't enjoy normal food. Lorne smokes and is still bitter about what Gunn's friends did to his bar. Fred considers going to Vegas for a new job, well one day she will. Angel likes golf and apparently watched the Bob Hope Desert Classic which was presumably played in Vegas. In the daytime? Wes' talk of his own parents puts Lineage into perspective.
Marks out of 10; 7/10 a funny and touching romp before we get down to the more serious stuff of season 3

 

[Iron Man]

Something I've been meaning to ask: since there's only usually one Slayer around at any one time (although since Buffy's death, two), what do the rest of the Watchers do? Do they fight supernatural threats on their own? And since Giles doesn't seem to be that popular with the Watchers' Council, how comes they give him such a huge responsibility in looking after one of the only Slayers?

I'm only up to "Beauty and the Beasts", so I'm not sure if any of this gets answered late on in the series...just something I was curious about.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Something I've been meaning to ask: since there's only usually one Slayer around at any one time (although since Buffy's death, two), what do the rest of the Watchers do? Do they fight supernatural threats on their own? And since Giles doesn't seem to be that popular with the Watchers' Council, how comes they give him such a huge responsibility in looking after one of the only Slayers?

I'm only up to "Beauty and the Beasts", so I'm not sure if any of this gets answered late on in the series...just something I was curious about.

From what we learn in later seasons the other Watchers are in a state of constant training themselves, training potential Slayers who've been identified (like Kendra and Faith) and also take a more direct role in fighting evil from time to time, they're sort of like Torchwood to Dr Who.

Giles' father and grandfather were also Watchers so that probably helped him get the job. Also Giles is without question the best they have plus there's the question of natural selection, all Slayers and Watchers have an extremely dangerous job and essentially live on borrowed time, the Council never expected Buffy to be the unique Slayer she was, it was simply Giles' turn in the role

SMASHED

Spoiler

The Good;
Everything with Amy and the Geeks at the museum/with Spike. Especially love Amy and Bufy catching up and Buffy jumping up and down to see over the crowd at the museum, reminding you for all her superpowers she's still a tiny little woman.
The Bad;
If the diamond is so valuable surely even in Sunnydale they'd have more security than some guy called Rusty?
Best line;
Buffy; "How have you been?"
Amy; "Rat. You?"
Buffy; "Dead"
Women good/men bad;
The 2 jerks who dance with Amy at the Bronze
Jeez!;
Don't mind the sex but dislike Spike hitting Buffy before they have sex, fine with a little slap and tickle/hairpulling roleplay but punching and kicking, it's all a little too brutal. It certainly brings the house down.
Kinky dinky;
Joss is right he does write pure porn. Naked Amy. Warren comments that 'size is everything'. Buffy says she thinks about Giles when she's kissing Spike. Must have done the Guffers' hearts good until she catches herself on. As Spike comments he may be into dark sexuality but he is a vamp, he should be treading on the darkside. Interesting point in the commentary that Joss made sure that Buffy kissed Spike first rather than him forcing the kiss on her and her succumbing after a little resistance gothic romance style.
Captain Subtext;
Spike comments that he's the only one 'here for you' in regard to Buffy which is very true. Amy wanted to go to the Prom with Larry, unaware he was gay. Tara and Dawn on the sofa, awwww! (lovely pic of that on the Buffy 2009 calender) Anyone else think that the girl Amy selects for Willow at the Bronze looks the spitting image of Cordelia? (Her stand-in/stunt double?) Maybe Amy picked up on something they never could admit to each other? Warren is concerned that when Spike asks him to examine his 'chip' it's British slang for something else.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 17
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 11
Will: 6
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;3
Dawn; 2
Kills: none but Buffy beats up 2 muggers
Buffy: 103 vamps, 41 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 1 demon +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 8 vamps and 2 demon
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 7
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1

Recurring characters killed: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
93

Total number of scoobies: no more Tara or Giles so 5
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?) Amy remarks on Xander's yen for demons so presumably she was always aware of the events of seasons 1-3
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost: Buffy and Spike and how!
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; 1 Buffy
Spike; good or bad?
Spike thinks he should be able to feast in muggers. He says he's at the museum out of compassion for the guard but he's surely lying, just an excuse to meet Buffy. Once he thinks his chip is not working he goes out to slaughter the first pretty girl he can find but seems to need to psych himself up to do so.
Dawn in peril; 7
Dawn the bashful virgin; 5
Questions and observations;
Buffy always wanted a pony. Maybe CC let her ride hers? The mugging scene is funny, nice to have some lightness as the writer comments. Spike can punch Buffy, a huge plotline right there. Spike mocks the geeks but isn't he the guy who referred to KITT and Yoda even in season 2? The Geeks have a glitterball in their lair, the same one that Andrew's brother used to train his hellhounds? Dawn refers to a talking cat on TV, Sabrina;TTW?
So, Buffy and Spike? My personal opinion on this is not that Buffy loves Spike but that she needs someone, anyone after her ordeal of being ripped out of heaven (to quote Justine on Angel 'better to feel something than feel nothing"). Unfortunately neither Willow or Xander is available, Angel has his curse, Riley's unreachable, Giles is out of picture and Dawn is out of the question unless you're into some pretty damn extreme Summers/slash (which in fairness a LOT of people are to judge by the plethora of Buffy/Charmed fanfiction in that fetish genre) so Spike fits the bill. That's not to say she doesn't develop feelings for him later but even Spike here comments that he's the only one 'here for her'.
Marks out of 10; 7/10, one for the Spuffers and no mistake, unfortunately I'm not one

WRECKED

Spoiler

The Good;
The waking up scene is a classic. Love the sight of Buffy in her nightie (same one she wore for Dracula?) surrounded by crosses and garlic trying to ward off Spike's advances.
The Bad;
The anti-addiction metaphor is laid on a little thick
Best line;
Amy (proffering bag of grass like substance) "It's not what you think, it's sage"
Buffy "That was what I thought it was"
Women good/men bad;
Jeez!;
The drug stuff is nasty as is poor Dawn getting beaten up by the demon.
Kinky dinky;
The magic interchange between Rack, Amy and Willow has obvious erotic undertones. Spike says that having sex with a Slayer is even better than killing one (because THAT's what every girl wants to hear in the morning). Spike seems actually quite pleased with Buffys description of their sex as the most 'peverse, degrading experience of my life'. Buffy says only one vamp ever got her hot, assuming she means Angel what about Dracula?
15 year old Dawn says that her burger was like a "Meat-party in her mouth"!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Joss is right he really does just write porn. Here Spike does force the kiss on a struggling Buffy and she succumbs, Victorian heroine style. Spike says he's done being Buffy's whipping boy, he might just be using that expression or is he talking literally? Her him or him her? Spike steals Buffy's panties for the second time. Love Amy's revealing strapless top. Spike says someone should teach Buffy to use candles in foreplay. Willow wears cheese in her bra which would probably work for Marge Simpson.
Captain Subtext;
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy threatens Amy
Scoobies to the ER;
Dawn breaks her arm
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out: Willow in the crash
Buffy: 17
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 11
Will: 7
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;3
Dawn; 2
Kills: 1 demon Willow
Buffy: 103 vamps, 41 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 2 demon +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 8 vamps and 2 demon
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 7
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1

Recurring characters killed: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
93

Total number of scoobies:
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost: It's possible you could count the interchange between Rack and Willow as sex but it's not explicit so no
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; 1 Buffy
Spike; good or bad?
Spike gloats at Buffy's discomfort and shows no remorse for his killing of the previous Slayers. But he does go to rescue Dawn (again!)
Dawn in peril; 8 and how!
Dawn the bashful virgin; 6 even she knows her 'meat party' metaphor is a bit too kinky
Questions and observations;
Rack is of course played by the same guy who played Kralik in 'Helpless', along with Brian Thompson as Luke and The Judge Buffy continues Xena's tradition of blatantly using the same actor to play completely different characters (Karl Urban plays 4 different characters in the course of 6 seasons, 2 semi-regulars). The scene with Willow hugging Tara's clothes makes me go awwwww every time, right up there with Dawn snuggling the Buffybot or Buffy and Joyce on the couch at the finale of Innocence. Some great acting from Alysson Hannigan.
Dawn says that Buffy always goes to the refrigerator after patrol, bearing out Faith's assertion that slaying makes you hungry and horny.
Marks out of 10; 7/10, good enough ep but hard to watch if you're a Willow fan

BILLY

Spoiler

The Good;
Love the fact that Lilah is the hero, all round great performance from Stephanie Romanov and CC (their scene together is wonderful) and some terrific out of character stuff from Wes and Gunn. Fantastically poignant ending.
The Bad;
Why does Angel tell Billy's cousin he's going to kill him? How does he expect to be invited in after that?
Best line:
Angel; "She thinks I'm melodramatic?"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Very hard to watch at times, man's brutality to woman a lot harder to take than demons and vampires. Even though Gavin is evil you don't doubt that he would never dream of attacking Lilah if Billy hadn't infected him.
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
Lilah kills the villain, bad girl comes good.
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
9,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 11
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out: Gunn and Wesley
Cordy: 11
Angel: 14
Wes: 6
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 2
Lorne; 2
Kills:
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 28 vamps, 40 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 7 demons+1 vamp
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 6 demons.
Fang Gang go evil: Gunn and Wes
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2
Gunn; 1
Wes; 1

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 7

Characters killed: two women Billy's victims.
45
Recurring characters killed;
7;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
5, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat; Only Lilah.
Wes; 3
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Wes comments on Fred's slinky number. CC and Angel 'getting all sweaty' whilst training as Xander would say. CC thinks Billy is 'kinda cute'.
Captain Subtext;
Wes has the hots for Fred and CC is aware of this. CC comments on using a phallic shaped weapon to threaten Billy. Angel is hurt that CC thinks him melodramatic.
Know the face, different character; 3
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Even Angel is shocked when he meets a battered Lilah. She refuses his sympathy however considering what he'd done to her in the past.
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
The Blims are very obviously supposed to be the Kennedys (of course Stephanie Romanov played Jackie O in the excellent Cuban missile crisis drama '13 Days'). His cousin actually seems ok. What happens to the poor guys who Billy infected and who attacked their women? Hopefully AI/Lilah get them out? Angel tries to spare CC from killing Billy just as he and Gunn will later do with Fred and the Professor.
Marks out of 10; 8/10, good episode, would be 9/10 if it had more arc.

OFFSPRING

Spoiler

The Good;
Season 3 really kicks into high gear with the arrival of Darla and her 'passenger'.
The Bad;
?
Best line:
CC; "What are friends for?"
Darla; "Knocking you up and leaving you high and dry"
Just beating Lorne's "It's beyond my Ken and my Barbie and all my action figures"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Cordy describes Angel as not going evil but 'going male' which is positively misandrist.
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
Darla the pregnant mother is still pure evil, defying all our expectations
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
9,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 11
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 11
Angel: 14
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 2
Kills:
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 28 vamps, 40 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 7 demons+1 vamp
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 6 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2
Gunn; 1
Wes; 1

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 7

Characters killed:
45
Recurring characters killed;
7;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
5, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat; Wes takes the pistol from the scroll owner
Wes; 4
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Wes refers to the date rape drugs GHB/rohypnol. CC refers to the Furies as Angel's 'chippies' and hopes they're on the pill. CC refers to Angel 'boning' Darla.
Captain Subtext;
The Kyrumption subtext between CC and Angel finally comes to the fore but Darla's arrival puts a spanner in the works. Darla seems appalled by the world suggesting her baby is already giving her a soul.
Know the face, different character; 4
Jack Conley as Sahjhan, also played the werewolf hunter Cain in the Buffy season 2 ep Phases
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Hang on everybody, we're going for a hell of a ride! Holst appears to be a Catholic which is ironic given that he's based on Oliver Cromwell who was markedly anti-Catholic despite being largely regarded as a champion of liberty. Gunn is a great juggler, I wonder if he was taught by the same person as Buffy in 'Hell's Bells'?
Marks out of 10; 8/10

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

GONE

Spoiler

The Good;
Love all the Invisible Buffy stuff it's just great. Also like Nancy Drew Willow and Buffy's new hair. Love Joanthon standing up to Warren too.
The Bad;
You rather think that Buffy's Slayer healing would take care of whatever the Geeks have done to her, it never seems that much of a threat "She's pudding"?
Best line;
Buffy (as the social worker looks at the bag of grass) "It's not what you think, it's magic weed"
Women good/men bad;
The Geeks again being their sleazy selves. Amazingly it's Spike who kicks Buffy out because she's using him. The girls seem mightily fascinated with Buffy's new hairstyle.
Jeez!;
Naked Spike under the sheets
Kinky dinky;
The Geeks plan to turn themselves invisible and sneak into a beauty parlour to watch women get bikini waxes (which hardly seems very erotic to me). Buffy and Spike at it again, especially love the 'Hey that's cheating gag!'. Dawn loves her mother's African fetility statue Kokopelli (jeepers!) and is sorry to throw him out. Buffy appears to have an errogenous zone in her left jean pocket to judge from her reaction when Spike retrieves his lighter. Xander appears to accidentally grab invisible Buffy's breasts in the Magic Shop. She is pretty damn aggressive when she goes to his crypt, almost Angel/Darla style.
Captain Subtext;
Jonathon refers to Warren as 'You penis'. Xander thinks Spike should get a girlfriend. The social worker observes that Buffy lives with another woman but Buffy denies it's a 'gay' thing. Andrew remarks on the Geeks' plans 'Naked women and... all the naked women'.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out: Willow knocked out by Warren at the arcade.
Buffy: 17
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 11
Will: 8
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;3
Dawn; 2
Kills:
Buffy: 103 vamps, 41 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 2 demons +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 8 vamps and 2 demon
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 7
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1

Recurring characters killed: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths;
93

Total number of scoobies:
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; 1 Buffy
Spike; good or bad?
Spike does try to support Buffy's interview with the social services but really comes across as the worst boyfriend ever.
Spike goes to help Dawn and Willow.
Dawn in peril; 8
Dawn the bashful virgin; 6
What the fanficcers thought;
Invisible Xander is a common theme
Questions and observations;
Why is Buffy so broke when she has this great big diamond in her possession? Surely she can return it for the reward? What happens to the Invisible Ray? I know in fanfic it's often stashed in the Summers' house cellar in order to save the day in a future episode. Xander and Buffy recall Invisible Marcie from season 1 (whatever happened to her?) Love Buffy's puma t-shirt, her spirit guide? Whilst we often observe that Warren is prepared to sacrifice the other Geeks here he suddenly turns around to find that they've deserted him and taken the Invisible Ray with them. A lot of people find fault with inivisible Buffy's hijinks but she's had such a hard time lately I think she deserves some carefree fun.
Buffy taking on the invisible geeks must make her thankful for Giles' blindfolded training.
Marks out of 10; 7/10, no masterpiece but enjoyable enough

Doublemeat Palace

Spoiler

The Good;
Very little, a very weak episode. Actually our first introduction to Halfyrek and the scene between her and Anya is wonderful. Also like Xander's advice to Dawn that if Buffy can't ever have a proper career outside Slaying Dawn can do it for her. Some nice comedy too with Xander eating the burger and the 'Hi, I'm Troy McClure' style corporate training video.
The Bad;
The list goes on. I think if Xander had been working in the DMP everyone would have loved this but we don't like seeing Buffy humiliated (in a non sexual sense)
Best line;
Buffy; "The double meat medely is people. Well, probably not the chicken part but who knows! Who knows!"
Women good/men bad;
Actually it's pretty disturbing that Halfyrek comments most of the time she's not even sure she's cursing the right guy. Love the way that every good point Anya states about Xander is twisted into a negative by Hally. Amy also shows her true colours implying that she's bitter at not having been deratted earlier.
Jeez!;
The severed finger and Manny's severed foot. Note how Buffy is now quite happy to include Dawn in the emergency meeting and show her some of the nastier sights of life.
Kinky dinky;
Actually I think Buffy and Spike against the trash trailer must rate as the most unerotic sex scene in the history of TV, even the most avid Spuffers must admit it's positively depressing. Now as we've all wondered before during 'Anne' surely a girl as beautiful as Buffy can get a better job? (or as Xander put it hasn't she ever met 'any nice pimps'?). 'Pretty Woman' or at very least doesn't Sunnydale have a Hooters or Spearmint Rhino? (or did Mayor Wilkins not allow them as not in keeping with his vision of the place? Even he with all his power couldn't stop streetwalkers to judge by 'Innocence' despite what the Gorch's say in Bad Eggs). Ok, I'm entirely non-serious but I can never get over the Hollywood cliche of a girl as beautiful as Buffy working in fast-food. Still after Belle du Jour not as unthinkable as it once might have been. Of course after watching Dollhouse or Morena Bacahra's character in Firefly you get the idea that Joss is actually quite keen on the idea of prostitution? Everyone seen the Eliza Dushku as a dominatrix scene? Then again she's thin, petite, beautiful, flexible, she'd be an awesome magician's assistant. Even got her own identical twin with the Buffybot which you need for many of the classic illusions. The Geeks (and Xander) also like the Vulcan woman from Enterprise, what a suprise. Nowadays it would be Summer Glau as The Big Bang Theory proves. Anya and Halfrek both comment on Xander's large upper arms which makes sense if you're a construction worker (Nic Brendon bulks up noticeably in the final 2 season but I prefer slimmer Xander from the earlier seasons)
Captain Subtext;
As is commeted upon in a later ep the worm thing that emerges from the old lady's head is just one giant penis. It spits it's goo at the straight (or bi girl to judge by the comics) making her helpless but the lesbian sees it, screams and runs away before decapitating it with a vagina shaped cooking instrument. And Buffy's new boss is called Lorena (Bobbit?)
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 17
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 11
Will: 8
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;3
Dawn; 2
Kills: one demon for Willow
Buffy: 103 vamps, 41 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 8 vamps and 2 demon
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 7
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1

Recurring characters killed: 10
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce

Sunnydale deaths; 2 guys from the DMP
95

Total number of scoobies:
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; 1 Buffy
Spike; good or bad?
Dawn in peril; 8
Dawn the bashful virgin; 6
What the fanficcers thought;
Cash strapped Buffy (and indeed any and all of the female characters) turning to prostitution is a staple of a lot of adult fic both before and during DMP and indeed afterwards. My favorite has Buffy eventually recruiting the rest of the Scoobygirls into her new profession turning Revello Drive into a high class bordello with Joyce as the madam then trasforming her post-Chosen Army of Slayers into an Army of Slayer/Hookers to fund the new Slayer academy.

Questions and observations;
Surely the authorities must inspect the DMP's produce, don't they have a problem with false advertising? Considering how nicely the Geeks tricked out their headquarters with all the money they stole couldn't Buffy and co sell it to raise some cash? Doesn't Amy remember that she turned HERSELF into a rat and indeed left Buffy and Willow to burn at the stake to do so? Love Dawn's kitten t-shirt. Dawn says she's eaten a lot at the DMP, it doesn't show. I reckon Dawn should be a Doctor, that way she can patch up the other scoobs as necessary. Also note that the Yanus head from Halloween is still in the Magic Box.
Would Buffy have survived without Willow's arrival? I think so, Slayer headling was obviously dealing with the paralysing agent when she arrived. Anyone else think that Lorena reminds them a lot of Ellen Degenerees with a little of Lynette from Desperate Housewives?
Marks out of 10; 3/10, pretty damn terrible compared to what Buffy can achieve

QUICKENING

Spoiler

The Good;
Love Angel's pride at 'Our kid, special!", everything else just moves at SUCH a frantic pace
The Bad;
Fred is introduced to Phantom Dennis but didn't they meet before in That Vision Thing? How non-corporeal is Sahjhan, it seems to vary?
Best line:
Linwood; "We're going to give you a second chance"
Psychic; (reading him) "No you're not, you're going to have me killed!"
Linwood; "See, why couldn't you come up with insight like that earlier?"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Killing the psychic with the plastic bag, euuuughhh!
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
Love the fact that the all powerful WR&H are once more betrayed by an underling, their security really does suck.
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tatt; 9,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 11
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 11
Angel: 14
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 2
Kills: one vamp for Wes and one for Angel
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 28 vamps, 41 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 7 demons+2 vamp
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 6 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 7

Characters killed:
45
Recurring characters killed;
7;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
5, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 4
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Angel; "I'd had a bad day"
Darla; "So you pushed me onto the bed and took what you wanted?"
Angel; "Seemed the thing to do"
Never got THAT on Party of Five! Which is probably why Buffy/Angel are the most popular series for adult fanfic ever. Gavin is quite the voyeur. It seems that everyone knows about Marcus/Lilah on the desktop. Angel remarks to Darla that she likes pain. Linwood dumped his wife for a younger model (perhaps literally?).
Captain Subtext;
Know the face, different character; 3
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
The title is derived from the term when a pregnant mother feels her child move inside her for the first time (rather puts a different perspective on 'Highlander' huh?). How does Wes know so much about childbirth? WR&H lose audio for a crucial 2 days, Jasmine/PTB interference? Linwood is played by the same actor who was in 80s detective show 'Crazy like a fox'.
Marks out of 10; 8/10

LULLABY

Spoiler

The Good;
All of it, pretty damn brilliant, especially love Holtz raiding the club. The Lilah and the interpreter scene is also great, no such thing as a minor character on Angel.
Interpreter (horrified); "You highlighted an ancient gushundi text?"
Lilah (defensively); "In yellow"
The Bad;
Even if it's just a stun grenade wouldn't Lilah and Holtz be deafened for hours afterwards? Why can't they just resoul Darla?
Best line:
Sahjahn; "He's using product but he's the same guy"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Darla and Angelus slaughtering Holtz's family is beyond horrible. Holtz's killing his sired daughter is the strongest and most tragic act in the series, your heart just bleeds for him.
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
9,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage: Angel pinned
Cordy: 5
Angel: 12
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out: Wes by Darla
Cordy: 11
Angel: 14
Wes: 6
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 2
Kills:
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 28 vamps, 41 and 1/2 demons, 3 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 7 demons+2 vamp
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 6 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 7

Characters killed:
45
Recurring characters killed; Goodbye Darla, she'll appear again but she's finally dead this time
8;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
5, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat; Lilah threatens her lackey with her gun. Angel uses the stun grenade (which Holtz is obviously impressed by and uses one later at Caritas) and Wes wishes he had a shotgun.
Wes; 4
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Way to much going on for that
Captain Subtext;
Or that.
Know the face, different character; 4
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Holtz is one pretty damn tough guy to take on WR&H's commando team. Note Angel doesn't even try to tell Holtz he has a soul, he knows he'd be wasting his time. Goodbye Caritas, after this Lorne won't bother trying to rebuild again.
The end of the Angel/Darla relationship and it's EPIC! And hello Connor (for good or ill).
Marks out of 10; 9/10

 

[Iron Man]

From what we learn in later seasons the other Watchers are in a state of constant training themselves, training potential Slayers who've been identified (like Kendra and Faith) and also take a more direct role in fighting evil from time to time, they're sort of like Torchwood to Dr Who.

Giles' father and grandfather were also Watchers so that probably helped him get the job. Also Giles is without question the best they have plus there's the question of natural selection, all Slayers and Watchers have an extremely dangerous job and essentially live on borrowed time, the Council never expected Buffy to be the unique Slayer she was, it was simply Giles' turn in the role

Oh right, thanks. I guess the life expectancies of Slayers are pretty short too, so they probably don't anticipate Giles mentoring Buffy for too long anyway.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

Oh right, thanks. I guess the life expectancies of Slayers are pretty short too, so they probably don't anticipate Giles mentoring Buffy for too long anyway.

Buffy's relationship with the council and Giles will change radically over time as you watch the later seasons. 'Fool for love' in s5 will answer many of your questions over past Slayers. Buffy and Faith hold the record for survival so far

DEAD THINGS

Spoiler

The Good;
The tearful, incredibly intimate scene between Buffy and Dawn in bed. Also am I the only one who is charmed by Buffy confiding in Tara who seems to have blossomed once she split up from Willow? LOVE the Buffy/Tara scene at the end, how many times have you seen a character crying on her knees begging NOT to be forgiven?
The Bad;
Even with the 'happy' ending hugely depressing.
Best line;
Willow; "Shimmy on out when you're done lubricating"
Women good/men bad;
The Geeks show their horrid misogyny. Especially awful when they refer to Katrina's body as 'it'. We see the fault lines develop in the Troika as Andrew sides with Warren and Joanthon starts to pull away from them.
Jeez!;
The killing of Katrina is just awful beyond belief
Kinky dinky; Where to begin? I've heard that SMG was no fan of the Spike/Buffy relationship, she found it demeaning and it's probably because of eps like this. SO packed full of sex and sexual metaphor with the scene at the Bronze astonishingly graphic (actually that's not true, we see absolutely NOTHING but Buffy and Spike's expressions convey so much you think you've discovered free cable porn by accident) .
Altogether now, "BAZOMBAS!" The Geeks voyeurism at the bar and enslavement of Katrina, making her wear her ridiculously sexy French Maid outfit is funny, creepy, pathetic and sexy all at the same time. But overall just CREEPY! Her flat monotone voice is especially upsetting she really does come across as a human robot (how could anyone find that attractive?). I fast forwarded through this bit on my rewatch as it just makes me cringe. As Katrina says it is rape (although you'd wonder exactly what the Sunnydale Police would do with her allegation, it's not like she has any proof? There may be a test for rohypnol but not for the influence of Magic Orbs) Obviously we're supposed to think they're going to hypnotise Buffy and make her their 'willing sex bunny' and it's been the subject of much fanfic not least because Buffy would have cleaned their clocks once the effects wore off, Katrina would still be alive and in some ways meaningless sex with them would still have been healthier than Spike? (read one very clever one where the effects of the orbs wears off but Buffy keeps playing along anyway, turning the tables on the Geeks by exploiting them as an occasional guilt-free booty call).
Katrina refers to April the sexbot as Warren's 'wind up ****'.
Buffy and Spike on the crypt floor is full of mixed messages. They missed the bed, again. Spike says Buffy 'Makes it hurt in all the wrong places' and says she's an 'animal' (which Buffy denies, her Buffy side struggling against her Slayer essence?) and Spike asks if she'd like to see the bitemarks? "You're amazing" and "You get the job done yourself". However Buffy seems to draw the line at handcuff sex, she sometimes likes Spike but she NEVER trusts him (and events will prove her right). We later see in her dream sequence that Spike is the one wearing the cuffs BUT she flinches guiltily later when Anya remarks that she's been 'all tied up' so I think it's open to debate as to whether she wore them or not. Anya also refers to Buffy 'pounding the big evil'. Their sex is so powerful Buffy loses the ability to use her legs for a while afterwards.
Exactly what sort of sex do Buffy and Spike have at the Bronze? Exhibitionist certainly but what of Spike's goes where in Buffy precisiely ? I've heard one of the writers has previously stated it's conventional sex but it doesn't look like that to me, it looks like something much more kinky, intimate and taboo (Buffy even remarks beforehand that she needs 'More lubrication'!?) 5th base?
A LOT more importantly this is the ep the Spike-defenders always refer to in regard to the later rape scene, she goes 'Don't' but he presses on saying 'Stop me' and she succumbs and melts into bliss like they're Rhett and Scarlet on the staircase or something. I don't buy it, when Buffy says "Don't" she doesn't necessarily want him to stop. When she starts crying, struggling, shaking and begging him 'Please! Stop! No!" on the bathroom floor she WANTS him to stop!
Captain Subtext;
Buffy imagines herself having sex with Katrina. Katrina tells the Geeks they'll be homosexually raped in prison. If ever there was a time for Buffy and Tara to hook up it would be between the end of this ep and the next. Warren tells a struggling Andrew and Jonathon 'You girls stop touching each other'.
Buffy just wants to curl up on the sofa for the night with Dawn but there's a distance between them. Joyce's illness and death brought them closer but Buffy's detachment since her ressurection has forced them apart again.
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

Scoobies in bondage: Buffy imagines herself in handcuffs (wants to be punished? Is that why she wants to go to jail?) but only in a dream sequence as far as we know for sure.
Buffy: 8
Giles: 4
Cordy: 5
Will: 3
Jenny: 1
Angel: 4
Oz: 1
Faith: 3
Joyce: 1
Wes: 1
Xander; 1
Dawn; 3

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 17
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 11
Will: 8
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;3
Dawn; 2
Kills: 1 demon for Buffy and 2 for Spike
Buffy: 103 vamps, 42 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 8 vamps and 4 demons
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 7
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1

Recurring characters killed: 11, poor Katrina
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina

Sunnydale deaths;
93

Total number of scoobies:
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; 1 Buffy
Spike; good or bad?
A pivotal episode in this genre. Spike cares for Buffy so he helps her cover up the murder. But he doesn't care for Katrina, he truly doesn't understand why Buffy is so upset at killing her (even Faith and Warren show remorse). Not his fault, he doesn't have a soul. Spike makes many of the arguments that Faith made when she killed Finch but the difference is that Faith was in denial and making excuses whilst Spike actually believes what he's saying, he has no guilt as Faith had. He also comments that he once ate a decorator.
Dawn in peril; 8
Dawn the bashful virgin; 6
Questions and observations;
Once again we see the difference in Faith and Buffy, how Buffy reacts to having killed someone and how Faith did (at least how she did in the past). Why doesn't Buffy just go to the Watcher's Council and ask them for their judgement? Willow has had no spells for 32 days, making this ep a full month after DMP. Note Buffy's little 'Thank you' to God/PTB when Katrina's scream interrupts her lusty feelings for Spike. Please note that when Buffy tells Dawn what's happened and what she intends to do Dawn never goes "What's going to happen to me?", she only expresses concern for her sister not herself. "You always hurt the one you love" is featured again just like in the Angel ep RM w/a Vu. Some great acting from Danny Strong when Warren and Andrew are euphoric at getting away with murder, you can just see Jonathon knows he's got in way over his head.
Marks out of 10; 5/10 good episode but not much fun for anyone

OLDER AND FAR AWAY

Spoiler

The Good;
Everything with Halfrek who I really like for some reason. Clem really comes into his own as a character here for the first time. Tara and Willow start to get back together and I also adore Sophie. Once again contrast Tara standing up to Spike and Anya here with the shy girl in 'Hush', she really has grown tremmendously.
The Bad;
Note there's a Sunnydale High Razorbacks pennant behind Halfrek in her office. But Dawn doesn't go to Sunnydale High (yet). The potion that Tara mixes up to try to break the spell looks like she's trying to make a chocolate cake.
Best line;
Spike; "I had a muscle cramp, Buffy was helping"
Tara; "A muscle cramp. In your pants? You might want to put some ice on that"
Women good/men bad;
Anya implies that Halfrek has 'daddy issues'
Jeez!;
Upsetting to watch Anya have her panic attack.
Kinky dinky;
Richard, the handsome guy Xander has set Buffy up with, even Tara thinks he's cute. Dawn not only in leather for the first time but check out her miniskirt, fishnets and knee boots at the party, Joyce's little girl all grown up! (Eliza Dushku always complained that she got a lot of fanmail from guys in prison and couldn't believe that they showed a TV series full of hot teenage girls to incarcerated criminals. You shudder to think what kind of letters MT must have recieved). Spike asks Buffy if she'd like to 'blow out his candle'? Willow's back massager present for Buffy is certain to provide 'Instant gratification for all aches' (anyone else think of Samantha and her 'back massager' from Sex and the City?)
Captain Subtext;
Clem also thinks Richard is cute. In many ways he comes to resemble Buffy/Dawn's gay/demon male friend. Tara calls Buffy 'Sweetie'. They also refer to telling everyone their big secret and deciding it's time to 'Come out'. They probably mean Buffy's affair with Spike but what really happened after Buffy collapses into Tara's arms at the end of 'Dead Things'? Might she have jumped on the sapphic bandwagon a few years before Satsu? Taffy anyone?
Guantanamo Bay;
Scoobies to the ER;
Xander cut but Richard is the only one to go to hosptial.
Missing scenes;
Reputedly a scene was filmed where Buffy and Dawn run out of the house at the end but I prefer the subtle implication of the ending we have
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 17
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 11
Will: 8
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;3
Dawn; 2
Kills: Buffy kills one demon
Buffy: 103 vamps, 43 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 8 vamps and 4 demons
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 7
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1

Recurring characters killed: 11
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina

Sunnydale deaths;
95

Total number of scoobies:
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; 1 Buffy
Spike; good or bad?
Dawn in peril; 8
Dawn the bashful virgin; 6
Questions and observations;
Another appalling Buffy birthday, if I was her I'd just hide under the bed all day and have Dawn bring me the occasional cup of tea until midnight. The title is a quote from Empire of the Sun (the book not the band) which Dawn is discussing in class at the beginning of the ep. Xander refers to Children of the Corn, Nic Brendon having acted in one of the sequals. Halfrek refers to vengence demons as 'justice demons' FYI. What does 'Total JD' mean?
Spike and Halfrek, hmmmm? Question is did Cecilly become Halfrek as Aud became Anyanka? OR was there NEVER a Cecilly, was there only ever Halfrek?
Subtle but very interesting final scene. Everyone leaves but Buffy and Dawn. They bid their friends goodbye then look at each other and smile. Because although they didn't want to be trapped there's no reason for them to leave because this is their house, this is where they belong together. Dawn wanted Buffy to spend more time with her and now when she has the option to leave she instead chooses to stay with the sister she loves and who loves her in return. Dawn is finally getting Buffy back in soul as well as in body.
Marks out of 10; 8/10, really like this one

DAD

Spoiler

The Good;
Love all the Lilah stuff, especially love 'Files and records' girl (who presumably gets killed by the Beast in season 4). The seige of the Hyperion is also good as is the reveal of Lorne's message
The Bad;
Won't the LAPD notice all this going on?
Best line:
Holtz; "I think you'll find your modern popular culture references wasted on me" (No kidding!)
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tatt; 9,
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 11
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 11
Angel: 14
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 2
Kills: 3 demons, 2 humans and a vamp for Wes, a demon for Gunn, 4 vamps, 4 demons and 4 humans for Angel
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 32 vamps, 45 and 1/2 demons, 7 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 10 demons+3 vamps, 2 humans
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 7 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 7

Characters killed:
45
Recurring characters killed;
8;
Total number of Angel Investigations: Lorne moves into the Hyperion and joins the gang. Most would say that this is the definitive Angel Investigation line-up?
6, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn, Fred and Lorne

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat; literally, Wes with a flamethrower (why not use that more often?)plus Angel with explosives
Wes; 5
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Captain Subtext;
Angel has a woman's taste in clothes according to CC.
Know the face, different character; 4
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Justine's sister is portrayed by Pat Tallman (her stunt double) who was one of my favourite characters from Babylon 5. Gunn refers to his cousin, I thought Elana was his only family? Fred is a computer expert now, just like Willow. Connor likes Angel in vampface which explains why he has no problem with Jasmine's true form. Cordy comments that Connor has Angel's brow. Holtz has killed 378 vamps in 9 years which is good going, in six years by my count Buffy has only killed about 150 vamps/demons and she's the most successful Slayer ever (although she has spent much of that time running away to LA and dead).
Marks out of 10; 9/10, slam bam all the way.

Spoiler

BIRTHDAY

The Good;
Cordy's sitcom is great and some excellent crazy acting from DB. Also nice to see Doyle again if only in a clip.
The Bad;
Feels a bit laboured in places. How can the message in one dimension still be there in another (Jasmine?)
Best line:
Skip; "Get out of here. No really, get out of here"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tattoo; yep when she's ripping the wallpaper off so that makes 10. Note it's not CC doing the somersault on her show's credits because you don't see her tattoo.
Cheap Angel; 7
Fang Gang in bondage: no although Wes and Gunn use manacles to restrain mad Angel.
Cordy: 5
Angel: 11
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 2

Fang gang knocked out: CC for the whole ep
Cordy: 12
Angel: 14
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 2
Kills:
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 32 vamps, 45 and 1/2 demons, 7 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 10 demons+3 vamps, 2 humans
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 7 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2

Alternate Fang Gang: Angel possessed by CC
Cordy: 2
Angel: 8

Characters killed:
45
Recurring characters killed;
8;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
6, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn, Fred and Lorne

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 5
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost:
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
Fred mentions she didn't wear underwear for 5 years. Gunn goes through CC's lingerie. To judge by CC's cleavage exposing outfit on her show this must be sweeps week?
Captain Subtext;
If Cordy wasn't around does this mean Doyle's last act was to kiss Angel? Love the CC as Wonder Woman cake the gang get for Cordy, too bad Joss went off the idea of making the film. Gunn comments that Fred is so cool. Wes refer to Gunn as his 'partner'. CC and Angel kiss
Know the face, different character; 4
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
So this is a world where CC never joins AI. No Fred so presumably after Wes and Gunn rescue her she goes back to Texas? In a world without Cordy's influence does this mean Merle, Elana etc are all still alive? Pentagrams always bad news. What are Buffy and the Scoobs doing about mad Angel in this alternate reality? CC is now part demon as is Faith, Buffy etc. This is ep 55 so exactly half way through the series.
Marks out of 10; 6/10

 

[Iron Man]

"Band Candy" was hilarious. t:

(Talking of which, Lorenzo, the reference in your review of that episode is from How I Met Your Mother!)

 

[pyromaniac]

Buffy's relationship with the council and Giles will change radically over time as you watch the later seasons. 'Fool for love' in s5 will answer many of your questions over past Slayers. Buffy and Faith hold the record for survival so far


[/SPOILER]

And S5's Checkpoint as well - the first real appearances of Watcher's Council. They don't really play much of a role beyond that, and their next appearance in S7 is almost peripheral. S3's Helpless is another one. And S7's Get It Done, which is actually the mythological origins of the Watchers' Council, in a very primitive but cool way. As these eps prove, the Watchers aren't exactly saints. But they do develop an attachment to the slayers, particularly those who inevitably have died. But come to think of it, there was a quite unique slayer in New York (very relevant to the plot as you'll see, Iron Man) who didn't seem to have a watcher.

I reckon the bureaucracy of the Council would've probably made for some interesting viewing if explored in more depth. But we get just enough anyway.

Lorenzo, I think the world of fanfiction is a fascinating place as well. You sometimes have to wade through the 'bad and mediocre' to the really good stuff. I wrote an essay a couple of years back on slash - it received a High Distinction. I can send it to you if you like. It was about Angel and Spike.

As for Holtz's high kill count compared to Buffy's, that's shocking. Even by S7, Buffy would fall short. But naturally it's presumed that she's killed more in off-screenville including in between summers plus when she originally was called (did you factor that?) and if you consider the comics canon (which they are), hers would still remain far higher.

 

[lorenzovanmatte]

More of the Council would have been fun but there's only so much room on the show. Another ep which tells us a great deal about them is the s5 Angel ep 'Lineage'. I don't consider them to be bad guys, they care about their Slayers but know that they inevitably die young so can't get too attached, they're essentially training these girls and sending them into a battle they can never really win to die. I'd love to see your Spangel essay, what's the link?

Spoiler

Is the New York Slayer you mean Nicky Woods? If so she does have a Watcher, he takes in and raises her son Robin but we never meet him

Band Candy RULED! Season 3 of Buffy hardly sets a foot wrong but even so it's a classic, the more Joyce in an ep the bettter it is! You're right about the reference and here's your reward, I pronounce you legend-wait for it-dary!t:

AS YOU WERE

Spoiler

The Good;
I never really liked Riley when he was a regular but in small doses I find him much more agreeable (and indeed feel the same way for Connor on Angel)
The Bad;
One thing that always shakes me about this ep is that Riley's wife Sam looks so much like Warren's ex Katrina. Also rather a spoiler when Marc Blucas' name appears in the opening credits. Have a look at the scene where the demon attacks on Main Street Sunnydale, the couple sitting at the coffee shop don't react at all. Since when does Sunnydale have this huge dam just outside it? Why do Riley and Buffy have to dump most of their weapons to go down on the line together, can't they just go down one at a time?
Best line;
Buffy (staring shocked at Riley);"Were you always this tall?" (yes which is one of the reasons he and petite Buffy were so ridiculous as a couple)
Women good/men bad;
Riley says he is in command of Sam. She says 'He wishes'. Buffy says she's not defined by who's she with, the beginning of her cookie dough philosophy.
Jeez!;
Kinky dinky;
Riley walks in on Buffy and Spike. Buffy changes in front of him but he doesn't look (seen it all before?). Buffy and Spike against the tree right in the open outside the Summer's house. Some very risque comments about 'Letting you in' and 'Come outside' that could be open to interpretation. But Buffy's 'He's not getting any gentler' remark gives a different aspect to all this, it seems almost joyless for her. According to Spike he and Buffy have sex for five hours straight but this is the last time they ever will.
Captain Subtext;
Xander is starting to dream of flower bouquets. Riley comments that he's seen enough of Spike's 'dead body' for one night. Willow comments how as a little girl she used to dream about marrying Xander but now seems glad to have ducked the bullet. After the events of 'Older and Farther Away' Buffy and Dawn seem much closer, getting on better, Dawn happy to go to school and kissing an ecstatic Buffy before she leaves.
Spike seems to revel in flashing his nakedness in front of Riley, prompting him to comment that 'I've seen enough of your dead body for one evening'. Anya comments that if Xander is such a big fan of Riley he should just marry him. Buffy says she loves Riley's wife too.
Once again Buffy says of guns "These are never useful" foreshadowing the end of the season.
Guantanamo Bay;
Riley's glad to be back in Sunnydale where he knows who to beat for information. Spike objects to Riley's search of his crypt as unconstitutional.
Scoobies to the ER;
Missing scenes;
Apocalypses; 6
Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 17
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 11
Will: 8
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;3
Dawn; 2
Kills: one vamp and a dozen demons for Buffy. Weirdly the vamp wears a peace symbol on his jacket.
Buffy: 104 vamps, 55 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 1½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 8 vamps and 4 demons
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 7
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1

Recurring characters killed: 11
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina

Sunnydale deaths;
93

Total number of scoobies:
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot: Buffy uses Riley's shotgun and tranquiliser gun but can't hit anything with either. She makes better use of his belt of grenades.
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost:
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; 1 Buffy
Spike; good or bad?
Spike is dealing in demon eggs, evil as they come. This seems to open Buffy's eyes to his true nature although she still won't let Riley kill him.
Dawn in peril; 8
Dawn the bashful virgin; 6
Questions and observations;
Obvious allusions to Aliens and all the better for them, Angel;TS will do something very similar in season 5 (also a series with strong female heroine until pt3 ruined the series). Poor Buffy, you feel so sorry for her that she get's rejected for UCSD (but surely she wouldn't have the money to go anyway?). Nice to give Riley some closure after the strained nature of his departure in 'Into the Woods'. Riley comments that Dawn has grown one and a half feet, well probably just eight inches. Note Riley asks if Dawn wants to leave due to the gory details but Buffy now lets her stay for the grown up stuff. Check out Willow's expression at Sam's 'disposable cameras' idea.
What book is Spike reading when Buffy comes into his crypt? It's a very Angel like touch. Riley says that Buffy is the first woman he ever loved and the strongest he knows (better not tell the missus that!). Buffy's final goodbye to Spike is very emotional, especially when she calls him William, that means more than ALL the sex in the world between them.
Marks out of 10; 8/10

HELLS BELLS

Spoiler

The Good;
Love Buffy's stalling (who knew SMG could juggle?). How beautiful is Anya in her wedding dress? Although her facemask makes her look like some sort of matrimonial superhero?

The Bad;
What a shame we don't get to see Xander and Anya's bachelor/bachelorette parties. Surely all of Anyanka's magic was undone when Giles smashed her necklace. By it's nature a depressing episode due to it's ending.

Best line;
Buffy; "So anyone here from out of town?"

Women good/men bad;
Anya's vows don't promise to obey Xander because he's not a sea Captain (Hello sailor!). Xander's dad has a nastily misogynist rant against his wife in particular and women in general.

Jeez!;
Xander killing Anya which thankfully isn't real

Kinky dinky;
Uncle Rory latches onto a nubile young waitress. Virginal Dawn is offered "Hymen's greetings" by D'Hoffryn. Dawn describes Spike's date as a '"Total skank!". Xander's dad likes Buffy's 'chassis' and wonders what's under the hood? Anya wants to be Xander's 'sex poodle'.

Captain Subtext;
Willow refers to noted bi actress Marlene Deitrich. Will says that Xander looks great in his tux but quickly adds that she realised she was gay. Halfrek and Anya seem to compete for D'Hoffryn's affection like two little girls with their father but he informs them 'I love all my demons equally'. Willow and Tara end up under the table together (and they haven't even been drinking)

Guantanamo Bay;

Scoobies to the ER;

Missing scenes;

Apocalypses; 6

Wheldon Cliches (with kind permission from Boo)

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; 3

Scoobies knocked out:
Buffy: 17
Giles: 12
Cordy: 6
Xander: 11
Will: 8
Jenny: 2
Angel: 6
Oz: 3
Faith: 1
Joyce: 3
Wes: 1
Anya;3
Dawn; 2

Kills: 1 demon for Xander
Buffy: 104 vamps, 55 demons, 6 monsters, 3 humans, 1 werewolf, 1 spirit warrior & a robot
Giles: 8 vamps, 2 demon, 1 human, 1 god.
Cordy: 3 vamps, ½ a demon
Will: 6 vamps + 3 demons +1 fawn.
Angel: 3 vamps, 1 demon, 1 human
Oz: 3 vamps, 1 zombie
Faith: 16 vamps, 5 demons, 3 humans
Xander: 6 vamps, 2 zombies, 2½ a demon,
Anya: 1 vamp and 1½ a demon
Riley; 18 vamps + 7 demons
Spike; 8 vamps and 4 demons
Buffybot; 2 vamps
Tara; 1 demon
Dawn; 1 vamp

Scoobies go evil:
Giles: 1
Cordy: 1
Will: 2
Jenny: 1
Angel: 1
Oz: 1
Joyce: 1
Xander: 4
Anya; 1
Dawn; 1

Alternate scoobies:
Buffy: 7
Giles: 4
Cordy: 1
Will: 3
Jenny: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 2
Joyce: 2
Xander: 4
Tara; 1
Dawn;1
Spike; 1

Recurring characters killed: 11
Jesse, Flutie, Jenny, Kendra, Larry, Snyder, Professor Walsh, Forrest, McNamara, Joyce, Katrina

Sunnydale deaths;
93

Total number of scoobies:
Xander, Willow, Buffy, Anya, Spike,

Xander demon magnet: 5(6?)
Preying Mantis Lady, Inca Mummy Girl, Drusilla, VampWillow, Anya (arguably Buffy & Faith with their demon essences?), Dracula?

Scoobies shot:
Giles: 2
Angel: 3
Oz: 4
Riley; 1

Notches on Scooby bedpost: Spike has a very goth date for the wedding, a parody of the Spikettes?
Giles: 2; Joyce & Olivia, possibly Jenny and 3xDraccy babes?
Cordy: 1?
Buffy: 4 confirmed; Angel, Parker, Riley, Spike. 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; 3; Buffy, Sandy and unnamed vamp****e
Spike; 1 Buffy
Spike; good or bad?
Tries to make Buffy jealous but eventually leaves with some dignity

Dawn in peril; 8

Dawn the bashful virgin; 7 "Hymen's greeting!"

What the fanficcers thought;
What were the bachelor/bachelorette parties like? http://www.fanfiction.net/s/3106151/1/The_Last_Night

Questions and observations;
We finally meet Xander's family. Unlce Rory is a drunken letch (Irish coffee for breakfast?) but quite likeable as is cousin Carol and her daughter, his parents by contrast are wretched. Dawn's notoriously big mouth once again makes an appearance. Is the demon right? He was a philanderer but that's hardly worthy of being tortured in hell dimension?
Buffy wears an 'I survived' T-shirt in the final scene with what looks like a dragon on it? (although technically she didn't survive the dragon, she died and was brought back). What about Giles? Surely he at least sent them a card? What about inviting Tito or Oz or anyone?
One interesting theory I did hear is 'Was D'Hoffryn behind it all?'. Did he secretly want Anya back in the fold and bring the demon to ruin her wedding deliberately?
Marks out of 10; 5/10 not too good

WAITING IN THE WINGS

Spoiler

The Good;
All of it, great humour, great pathos, the ballet is beautiful and this is THE ep for Cangelers
The Bad;
?-actually how can Angel be so sure that it's the same people he saw 100 years ago, do vampires have perfect recall? And do we really believe that Angelus who casually slaughters entire famillies gets moved to tears by a ballet (or is he just gilding the lily for Gunn?). How does the Count explain that his ballet company appears to have no members?
Best line:
Showing the double edged genius of the ep (comedy and tragedy) it's either "I don't dance, I echo" by the ballerina or "You know I was cool before I met y'all" by Gunn
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche; In the end the ballerina fades away, she's free but not as we might have expected her to go free.
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tatt; astonishingly given all the nudity no,10
Cheap Angel; 9
He complains he used to be able to get better seats.
Fang Gang in bondage:
Cordy: 5
Angel: 11
Wes: 6
Gunn; 3
Lorne; 3
Fred; 1

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 11
Angel: 14
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 3
Kills: 3 minions for Angel and 1 for Wes
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 39 vamps, 55 and 1/2 demons, 7 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 12 demons+3 vamps, 2 humans
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 8 demons.
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2
Gunn; 1
Wes; 1

Alternate Fang Gang: CC and Angel possessed by the spirits of the ballerina and her lover
Cordy: 2
Angel: 8

Characters killed: the ballerina
46
Recurring characters killed;
8;
Total number of Angel Investigations:
5, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn and Fred

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 5
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: so how far do CC and Angel go? Certainly plenty of above the waist action but probably not all the way. Cordy however confirms her relationship with Phantom Dennis.
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
CC thinks that men would dig 'The Ravager' because she has 6 breasts. The jacket gag, some extremely saucy dialogue between CC and Angel. Lorne comments on Angel's yen for cheerleaders.
Captain Subtext;
Fred thinks Gunn is 'pretty'. The entire ep concentrates on the ballet. Lorne calls Angel a variety of pastries.
Know the face, different character; 4
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Amazed they let Joss away with the shameless plugging of his brother's band. Also amazed that Summer Glau had no acting experience prior to this, she's amazing both acting and dancing. Once again how would CC who was born around 1985 know about Spinal Tap? Wes shows his fencing skill which we saw him practicing with Giles back in SD. For a moment you really think that Wes will turn Iago style on Gunn and Fred but as CC comments he's a gentleman. Always wondered about the little moment when Fred turns to Wes and says 'I thought it would work out another way'. Does she know how Wes feels about her? Is she hinting that she's still interested? Lorne tells Connor the story of the Rat Pack, wonder if he knew Angel hung out with them? Start a "website", nice reach out to the fans.
Marks out of 10; 10/10 a real treat rivalling OMWF

COUPLET

Spoiler

The Good;
A not so subtle tale of Angel drawing away from CC, funny but nothing really special UNTIL the final scene with Wes' revelation changing what had been a lightweight ep utterly.
The Bad;
Tree demon looks stupid
Best line:
Angel; "Life is short, ok not mine but most peoples"
Jeez, how did they get away with that?
Apocalypses: 5
Angel Cliches
Inverting the Hollywood cliche;
In disguise; 8
DB get's his shirt off; 12
Cordy's tatt; 10
Cheap Angel; 9 quite the reverse, he's very generous to CC
Fang Gang in bondage: Gunn and Fred trapped by the tree roots. So is the guy chained to the wall at the brothel but he doesn't want to be released. Or judged.
Cordy: 5
Angel: 11
Wes: 6
Gunn; 4
Lorne; 3
Fred; 2

Fang gang knocked out:
Cordy: 11
Angel: 14
Wes: 5
Doyle; 1
Gunn; 1
Lorne; 3
Kills: 1 demon for Gunn and one for Groo
Cordy: 5 vamps, 3½ demons
Angel; 39 vamps, 55 and 1/2 demons, 7 humans
Doyle; 1 vamp
Wes; 12 demons+3 vamps, 2 humans
Kate; 3 vamps
Faith; 16 vamps, 6 demons, 3 humans.
Gunn; 8 vamps+ 9 demons.
Groo; 1 demon
Fang Gang go evil:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 2
Gunn; 1
Wes; 1

Alternate Fang Gang:
Cordy: 2
Angel: 8

Characters killed:
46
Recurring characters killed;
8;
Total number of Angel Investigations: add Groo to the mix
7, Angel, Cordy, Wes, Gunn, Fred, Lorne and Groo

Angel Investigations shot:
Angel: 11
Wes; 1
Packing heat;
Wes; 5
Doyle; 1
Angel; 1
Gunn; 1

Notches on Fang Gang bedpost: once again CC drawn to someone with a demon essence
Cordy: 3 ?+Wilson/Hacksaw Beast+Phantom Dennis
Angel: 5; Buffy, Darla and The Transcending Furies
Wes; 2; Virginia and the bleached blonde

Kinky dinky:
CC on the Groo "RRRRrrrrrrr", likes his (admittedly formidable) muscles. CC wants to know if they can 'com without actually shukking'? (Second base?) She plans to rip the Groo's shirt off later, shouldn't she let him get his strength back first? Angel in a brothel not for the first time or I dare say not the last, seems a fun place for all. Gunn refers to voodoo booty rituals but he might be making that up.
Captain Subtext;
Groo and CC and Fred and Gunn pair up leaving Angel and Wes to wander around like a gay couple. Angel objects to Groo 'handling his weapons' which is nothing to CC asking him to help her have sex with Groo. She also states that 'No women is going to tempt you' which he doesn't take as a compliment. The Madam thinks he and the Groo are a gay couple, Groo mentioning 'his princess'. Poor Wes wonders that Fred thinks of him as a brother.
Know the face, different character; 4
Parking garages;
5,
Guantanamo Bay;
Buffy characters on Angel; 16
Wetherby, Collins and Smith. Angel, Cordy, Oz, Spike, Buffy, Wes, Faith, Darla, Dru, The Master, Anne, Willow and Harmony
Questions and observations;
Who wants to bet me that it was Numfar that did the 'Dance of Revolution'? AI still take the occasional paying case in order to fund Connor's college tuition (and presumably CC's holiday). Much in the same way as Buffy seems to increasingly rely on Dawn for her emotional needs as she slowly parts with Riley, Angel seems to get over CC by concentrating his affections on Connor whilst Wes throws himself into his work. Personally I love the Groo and I'm glad to have him on the show. CC refers to her cousin, we know she has no sister but is she an only child? Did you notice that the woman the demon grabs in the park looks the spitting image of Cordy (maybe her stand-in/stunt double?)
Marks out of 10; 7/10, good fun and you really feel for Angel and Wes

 

[Iron Man]

"Lover's Walk" was brilliant. It was great to see Spike back and I loved the irony of him getting himself back together (in his own twisted way) just as everyone else falls apart - Buffy stops seeing Angel and Cordelia and Oz find out about Xander and Willow. The big fight scene with Buffy, Angel, and Spike against a horde of vampires was one of my favourites of the series so far. I would've liked to have seen Drusilla back too, but I guess that would have overcrowded the episode a bit.

 

[Iron Man]

I'm up to "Helpless" now (which was a great episode; I loved seeing more of the Watchers' Council, the exploration of Giles' fatherly relationship with Buffy, and Buffy fighting without her power) and I've really enjoyed every episode. Season 3 is really on a roll.