Reviewed by Sanguine

We know who the Big Bad is. The First Evil has apparently declared war on the Council, the Scoobs, and Spike. But why this war has been declared remains to be seen. Unfortunately, my pet theory about the Big Bad being the Powers that Be didn't come to pass, but learning more about the First Evil, last seen in the Season 3 episode "Amends," could be fun. I always felt the First Evil--a character with such a dreadful, ominous moniker--was underused. In Season 5 we wondered (albeit briefly) if Glory was somehow connected to the First (her morphing qualities fooled us). Now we get a big dose of Malevolent Morphy, coercing people into killing, blowing up buildings in a posh area of London, and raising one very nasty looking Ubervamp.

Drew Goddard's episode, "Never Leave Me," while competently penned, wasn't as strong an effort as his "Selfless." Nevertheless, the Ultimate Drew has proved to be a consistent writer, and he provides the viewer with some amazing (and sometimes amazingly funny) moments, even if the checklist of plot stuff he needs to accomplish is lurking dangerously close to the surface.

Plot stuff item #1: The Buffy/Spike relationship.

Boy, the writers are working overtime to "fix" this puppy. I love the character of Spike. I'm sure you all know that. While I loved the content of the Spuffy scenes, I felt as though their pontificating didn't always grow organically out of what was happening (this was particularly true of the scenes in Buffy's bedroom). The staff at Mutant Enemy apparently wanted to accomplish three things with these scenes. First, they needed to make clear that Buffy's behaviour last year was the result of her own self-loathing. Fine. I'd figured that out by the time "Dead Things" rolled around. It was a bit disconcerting to hear these characters saying things that we've been writing on the internet boards for a year now. Is this the bugbear of self-referentiality rearing its ugly head? Perhaps.

Second, they needed to establish that both Buffy and Spike have changed. Buffy is no longer full of hate. Spike is no longer a soulless monster. In order to show us this, we have the effective scene in the basement, where Spike tries to adopt his Big Bad persona to goad Buffy into staking him. His self-loathing, his revulsion as he recounts his various misdeeds, including what he did to girls of Dawn's age, is a clear demonstration that this is not the same swaggering vamp who once told Dawn terrifying tales of little girls in coal bins. He also poses a question to Buffy that we've all been asking: if she doesn't love him, why hasn't she just staked him? Spike suggests that Buffy chooses men who hurt her to give her the hate she needs to be the Slayer. That may have been true of Buffy in the past, but the new and improved Buffy rejects this answer. And in doing so, she makes the third point that Mutant Enemy wanted to make: Buffy accepts that Spike has changed; amazingly enough, according to her his true change came before he ever acquired the soul. It came when, filled with remorse and self-loathing, he went to see "a man about a girl." He made the decision to become a better man without a soul. Or, as Buffy notes, he fought the monster inside.

Interestingly, this is a complete reversal from all the times Spike claimed he changed and Buffy rejected it (Seasons 5-6). Now Spike begs Buffy to kill him because he's still a monster. But Buffy doesn't believe him. It would be easier for Spike if the changes were, as he claims, just "window dressing." Buffy tells him, "You risked everything to be a better man, and you can be. You are. You may not see it, but I do . . . I believe in you, Spike." This is, of course, a huge step. Finally, Spilliam has a woman who actually "sees" him, who sees that he's a good man, even if he's not completely sure. Of course, this business about Buffy believing in Spike was ultimately a huge plot device: he had to have some kind of motivation to face the First Evil (who right after Buffy's line sends Harbingers to kidnap him). It's instructive to compare this abduction to Spike's abduction in the episode "Intervention," when Glory's minions kidnapped him. In "Intervention" Soulless Spike had no encouragement from Buffy to do the right thing. In withstanding Glory's torture, he did something Buffy considered "real": he would have died to keep Buffy's secret. At that moment, Soulless Spike was his own man. On the other hand, Neo Spike is filled with so much self-loathing, that succumbing to the oblivion offered by the First Evil might seem appealing. Judging from his words in the basement, he wants to die. In "Intervention" Spike's love for Buffy was strong enough, his ego was strong enough, to withstand torture. Post-Soul Spike is a broken man who thinks himself deserving of death. In order to make his continued existence somewhat plausible, Mutant Enemy had to have Buffy "believe in him." Otherwise, Spike would have probably allowed himself to be killed by Malevolent Morphy.

Plot stuff item #2: Find out more about the Big Bad

Let's review what we've learned in this episode. After being attacked by the all-too-familiar monks, Buffy figures out that they're up against the First Evil. We also learn that the First Evil has declared war on the Watcher's Council for some unspecified reason and that they need to find Possibly Headless Giles posthaste. Will the Giles that shows up in Sunnydale be Morphy Malevolent Giles or Genuine Giles? Yikes! We then see the Watcher's Council blow up. Boy, that wacky First Evil: Harbingers everywhere! We also learn that the First Evil needs blood to pour on that Baphomet looking thing the Sunnydale High School basement. Apparently, Jonathan didn't have enough blood to do the trick. So Morphy!Warren approaches Andrew to kill again. Strangely, Andrew (clad in the Big Bad garb of former geeks--leather trenchcoat and black boots) has qualms about killing strangers (but killing one of his best friends was OK?) and they settle on pig slaughter instead. In a very funny sequence, Andrew tries to capture a Babe-like pig (or perhaps it was the reincarnation of the pig from the Season 1 episode, "The Pack"), as he shouts the words, "That'll do, pig." Hilarity ensues, but ultimately Andrew is unsuccessful. So he goes to the butcher shop to get blood packets. Apparently, the thirsty symbol isn't picky about what kind of blood it gets. Unfortunately, Andrew runs into Willow and is absconded back to the Casa Summers for interrogation. But Morphy still needs blood. So it whispers a song in a dead man's ear and Spike attacks Andrew. And here, my friends, we seem to have a gaping plot hole. The First Evil tells Spike at the end of the episode (because Spike is the lucky one who eventually gets bled over the nasty symbol, raising the Ubervamp) that s/he'd planned to bleed Andrew, but Spike had screwed up. It looked like Spike was planning to bleed Andrew for himself, not save some for Morphy. Either a) Spike subtly subverted the First Evil's plans by slurping Andrew himself b) Drew Goddard messed up, or c) The First Evil's plans are just as morphy as its form.

Plot stuff item #3: Cast suspicion on various characters

I've already mentioned the possibility that Giles is really dead and that Morphy Giles may be making an appearance in Sunnydale. But what about that hunky Principal Wood: eeevil or just trying to keep his job? Or both? Hmmm. I always thought he was a bit too eager to hire Buffy as a counselor, even though she had absolutely no qualifications. And now we find out that he's keeping tabs on the basement, even burying bodies as necessary. I hope that the Principal isn't evil. It's become a Sunnydale cliche.

Then we have Anya, getting a bit too enthusiastic with her interrogation methods. Yes, they're effective, but they're also a tad violent. Has she gone too far? Is Morphy affecting her too, or is it just her insecurity manifesting itself as a lust for power? Or was it just Drew Goddard making with the funny?

And what about Xander and his whole "heart replaced with darkness" speech? Poor Xander. I've really liked him lately. I sure hope he doesn't go evil. Did spending all that time on the construction site do something to him? Was he the planter of the talisman in "Lessons?" And why is he so non-judgmental of Spike all of a sudden? Sure, the change is welcome, but . . . In any case, we get the sense of how much pain Xander is in, how empty he feels now that Anya is gone from his life. Sigh.

Now we have months of hiatus to stew about these various hanging plot threads presented in "Never Leave Me." If this season is the last one, BTVS promises to go out with a bang.