|
Season 6: Bargaining After Life Flooded Life Serial All The Way Season 3: Bad Girls Consequences Season 4: Restless Season 5: Crush The Weight of the World The Gift | Season Six is shaping up to be a very mixed bag. The show is doing everything right on paper, but the episodes lack a true sense of balance. I sat down to write this review fully planning to give it 5 Stakes, and yet here I am, giving it 4. At least in this episode, Alyson Hannigan is the reason I wanted to give it 5 Stakes, but the balance needed for all five of the Mr. Pointy's just isn't here. The comedy is here. The drama is here. Buffy's difficulties are still being handled consistently. There are some truly funny lines in this episode ("Did anyone actually come here to make out?"), Giles gets to kick some butt, and Spike gets to show that he isn't the punk he sometimes seems to be, reminding us that he's been around for a couple hundred years. The difference between the Scoobies, who are now essentially adults, and Dawn, who is as old as the Scoobies were when the show started, is masterfully driven home by excellent writing in all of Dawn's scenes. Yep, this episode does what it needs to do. This season still hasn't found its sea legs, however. The acting by some of the guest stars is pretty much dead. Not undead, just dead. That any girl could fall for Justin's Quaalude-induced monotone is difficult for me to believe. Most importantly, the drama and the comedy still seem to be competing with each other instead of cooperating. Take a look at something like "Surprise" (2-13) to see the kind of cooperation that I'm talking about. In "All The Way," it almost feels like one writer wrote the dramatic parts and another wrote the funny parts and then they threw them together. Funny, dramatic, but not entirely satisfying. Despite these defects, Alyson Hannigan truly shines as Willow. I keep expecting Willow to look at Buffy and say, "Giles never told you what happened to your father… I am your father." Either that, or she'll get herself a Dark Phoenix costume and start eating stars. These are other classic examples of a very good person corrupted by great power; what makes Buffy The Vampire Slayer so chilling is that this is the first time we have seen a flesh and blood actor bring this story to life (although we'll soon see Hayden Christensen do his take on it). Ms. Hannigan once again stuns me with her acting prowess as she shows Willow slowly losing her sanity. Perhaps what so consistently amazes me is her capacity for subtlety; I find myself agreeing with her just-too-insane decisions (but just for a second!). In this episode when Willow is trying to find Dawn, Hannigan's subtlety makes me actually think, Hurry! Use the spell! before I take a second and realize that Tara is right. I can also feel the temptation to make Tara forget the argument in the bedroom, and it is all due to Alyson Hannigan's performance. These are the only two parts of the episode that really draw me in and make me forget I'm watching TV. The rest of it feels clever but not inspired. Yeah, I admit it, I fell for the "old man isn't the villain" psych-out, but when Justin vamped out I just thought, "Oh, plot twist," whereas Willow's spell at the end just had me gaping at the screen, dying for next week. I think we're seeing the end of the set-up phase of this season. Just like when one flies in a plane, take off can be a little shaky, but once the plane hits cruising altitude things tend to smooth out. I think this season is going to do the same, and I think we are in for one Hell(mouth) of a ride. Rating: 4/6 Stakes |