Reviewed by Sanguine

Joss: [rubbing his hands together in glee] Well, my minions, we've reached episode 4. Now is the time to have a filler episode, so we can self-consciously set out the plot arcs for the rest of the season.

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Flooded, written by Joss's trusty elves, Jane Espenson and Doug Petrie, was flooded by many things. Water flooded Buffy's basement. Unpaid bills flooded in. Panic flooded through Xander at the prospect of his impending nuptials. The lust for power flooded the judgment of both Willow and her alter-egos, a troika of super geeks intent on taking over Sunnydale (kicking ass and bagging babes). You get the picture. In short, Flooded was flooded by too much plot. It was not flooded by a surfeit of genuine emotion. But perhaps that was the point.

Buffy has returned to her bantering ways, but witty words, formerly her primary coping mechanism against the rigours of her job and the cruel world, are now simply words. Buffy is just going through the motions. She is unable to connect, and at several moments during the episode, Buffy lapses into near catatonia-- like when she is mesmerized by running water going down the drain. Her friends are concerned but ill-informed-- they still don't know the awful truth. And Buffy isn't telling them. She's trying to protect them from what they did to her, and in the process, she has completely detached herself from her friends. She cannot even connect with Dawn. Before her death, Buffy was extremely protective of her younger sister. Dawn was special. Dawn was the key. Post-resurrection Buffy no longer feels an overwhelming need to protect her sister. In fact, she treats Dawn with casual disregard (for example, when Buffy finds out that Dawn is doing demon research, she wonders snarkily if her sister would like a cappuccino and cigarettes). Buffy's behaviour towards her sister, while understandable, will have lasting repercussions. When Buffy died, Dawn felt deserted and perhaps even felt that her sister's death was her fault. Now her sister has returned physically--Dawn's fondest wish has been granted--but emotionally Buffy is still dead. Dawn, being an insecure adolescent in the midst of an identity crisis (who am I, now that I’m not the key?) will probably not react well to her sister's neglect.

Because of Buffy's emotional detachment, this episode was not just hard on the participants in the drama, it was also rather hard on the viewer. Flooded was filled with awkward silences and painful moments. In fact, Buffy only shows brief glimmers of emotion in this episode. When Buffy first sees Giles, she looks stunned. For a moment, I thought she was going to crack. Perhaps she would fall into Giles's arms and tell him everything. But after an intense embrace, the two separate, and in spite of Giles's efforts to reach out, Buffy pushes him away. All of Giles's subsequent attempts at comforting Buffy are subtly rejected and every time he tries to touch her, she flees. Most tellingly, she doesn't tell Giles where she has really been.

Buffy's emotional frigidity also thaws a bit when Spike arrives. He is still playing the role of confidante, and in a nice moment reminiscent of the end of Fool for Love (with the distinct improvement that Spike is not carrying a shotgun) the vampire and slayer have a chat. Spike defends Giles (which was something I never thought I'd hear) and jokingly offers to kill the Scoobies. He's rewarded with a small grin from Buffy. "Why are you always around when I'm miserable?" she asks. But that's the thing about Spike. He's always there. And Buffy can be "alone" with him--she feels comfortable with him. How times have changed.

Buffy's iron grip on her emotions also crumbles when she is surprised by a call from Angel. Angel, obviously overwhelmed by Buffy's unexpected return from the dead, wants to meet her right away at a neutral location (neither Sunnydale, nor L.A., neither UPN, nor WB). Angel still has the ability to make Buffy drop everything. Giles is left holding the bills, Dawn is left standing in the middle of the living room. "Thanks for taking care of this," Buffy declares as she leaves. Giles, of course, did not have a choice in the matter.

Perhaps the most telling emotional moment came when Willow tries to rouse Buffy from her stupor by goading her friend with tales of her sordid affairs with Riley and Angel (ha!). In Buffy's muted confrontation with Willow we finally begin to see a glimmer of what lies beneath Buffy's brittle and carefully-controlled surface: simmering rage and resentment.

Magic always has consequences.

Buffy's not the only one dealing with emotional problems. Willow's emotional health is also questionable--a sign of her continued descent into the realm of Dark!Willow. She is only capable of thinking of herself, how Buffy's behaviour makes her feel. She smirks in disdain when her oldest friend, Xander, gets in a fight with Anya. She's not paying rent, even though her friend is in dire financial trouble (a sure sign of selfishness, if not evil!). When Giles confronts her about performing the resurrection spell, calling her a "rank amateur," Willow responds with venom. "You're right. The magics I used are very powerful. I'm very powerful. And maybe it's not a good idea for you to piss me off." Quickly, she backs off from that position, but the damage has been done. Willow has become arrogant. Willow has become dangerous. Willow, the former high school computer geek who used to feel like the perpetual victim, has now tasted ultimate power. She has the ability to play God, literally creating life where there was none. Like Buffy, she can decide who lives and who dies. Watching Flooded brought to mind the behaviour of Willow's vamp double. Many have commented that Vamp Willow's bisexuality hinted at the Real Willow's sexual preferences. But Vamp Willow was also was a power-hungry sadist. Perhaps the potential for evil has always lurked within Willow--in truth, it lurks within us all. Even in the most capable hands, power can corrupt. As Warren said, "Forces sometimes have great power on the weak minded."

Speaking of the troika: I liked them. They amused me. And, as Joss has said that the theme for this year's season is "Oh grow up," the presence of this brand of "supervillain" is highly appropriate. Jonathan, Warren, and Andrew are in a state of perpetual adolescence. They only think of their needs. They don't consider the repercussions of their actions. They don't want to work for anything. And, for a lair, they use mommy and daddy's basement. In a neat little bit of plotting, the troika seem to mirror facets of Willow's personality. Willow, like the members of the troika, was not popular in high school. She was studious and good with computers (Warren, AKA Robopimp). Once she met Buffy, she began to blossom, gaining confidence. She also developed an interest in magic that eventually allowed her to perform amazing feats and become a leader (Spellcaster!Jonathan). Finally, Willow has shown she can control animals (Andrew, AKA commander of the flying monkey squad). Her luring the fawn to its death in Bargaining proved her abilities in this area. Just you wait. Willow will be commanding a crack team of demon dogs in no time! Or not.

Moving on to other characters in a state of arrested adolescence . . . let's talk about Xander, shall we? Xander, Xander, Xander. What the hell are you doing? You ask a girl to marry you. Then you say you can't tell anyone about the engagement because your friend died and you're planning her resurrection. OK, I can understand that. But now Buffy's back. What's your excuse, Xand-man? Oh, this "husband thing is a big step." Well, excuse me, dearie. You should have thought of that before you bought the ring. I'm with Anya on this one: she's engaged to Captain Fear. Anya may have been exceptionally annoying this season, but she has good reasons. And she doesn't like sounding like an insecure harpy. As she says to Xander, "God, I hate this. This tone in my voice. I dislike it more than you do and I'm closer to it." Xander, announce the engagement, already. Put us out of our collective misery.

Finally, I leave you with this deep thought:

No. Thwack. More. Thwack. Copper. Thwack. Repipe.

I couldn't agree more.