Tabula Rasa - Love. Redemption. Spike

AKA Riley Lovin'

AKA Kick the Spike

I very nearly didn't write this review. I'm still tempted not to. "As You Were" is the biggest piece of garbage written thus far by ME.

They completely went against all the character development they have set forth from day one. The only consistency in the entire episode was Xander's blind devotion for Riley Finn. As Anya said, "if you love Riley so much, why don't you just marry him?"

In Season 5, we learned that Riley has some nasty little issues. He's clingy and a bit addicted to the Dark Side. (Hey, if Buffy is starting to slip into Star Warsese, then so can I.) Buffy never really loved him. He was convenient for her. A warm, Riley shaped blanket that she could put on or put aside whenever she wanted.

Now, ME is trying to tell us that Riley is all Buffy ever needed. He is the tall, handsome, perfect boyfriend that she let get away. He shows up, looking tall (above her). He leaves in a flash of light, almost as if ascending into heaven. Funny. He wasn't portrayed like this last season.

The same goes for the other characters. Dawn never had a special bond with Riley. To her, he was just the guy Buffy screwed up in her bedroom from time to time. Now we have all this tension and anger from Dawn due to Riley's sudden departure last year. What?!

Now, let's move onto Spike. As far as I am concerned, we have been shown little bits and pieces of Buffy's heart in previous episodes. As I mentioned in a couple of my reviews, I believe that Buffy is in love with Spike and is just starting to admit it to herself.

Now ME is trying to tell us that, oh, no, he's still Evil Spike and will never change. Buffy can never love him. He. Is. Bad. He doesn't even care that she is just using him for sex.

And how about that scene outside the house. Why can't Spike go in? Um, Spike is the one Dawn has an attachment to. Why is everyone confusing Spike and Riley?

What is this, the Bizzaro episode?

Now for Something Completely Different. A new game show. I like to call it:

Let's play kick the Spike.

Spike is Evil. He is an idiot. He is stupid. He is incompetent. He is incapable of planning the whole egg ordeal. Let's all punch him in the face. Let's all threaten to kill him. Let's tell him we have no feelings for him and are just using him. Let's burn down his home. Let's choose the old ex-boyfriend's side over Spike's. Hell, let's just stake him and be through with it, shall we?!

So. The entire moral of this story is that Buffy is a pathetic loser. She has a dead-end job that makes her stink so badly that even vampires don't want to be near her. She's been rejected from a junior college. She is sleeping with a soul-less demon whom she doesn't even love. So, in the end, we have the original Buffy hair-do (From Season 1. Perhaps she is trying to regain some of that security?), and she strolls out into the sunshine, determined to put the Evil Spike and her crappy life behind her.

Another thing. What was with that convo between Sam and Willow? Did they cut a scene out? All of a sudden, Sam had hurt Willow's feelings. It obviously had to do with a discussion about magick, but I must have gone unconscious from all the Riley Lovin' and missed it.

Okay. Now is the time when I stop bitching and say something positive.

What did I like?

Dawn actually showing some respect for Buffy and all her sacrifice to maintain the household.