Hellbound

***Kris settles into her Comfy Chair, and readies the laptop for a night of intensive note-taking...***

Oh, my...

That was a rather intense ep, wasn't it? I barely took any notes at all - I was completely sucked into the storyline. This was a rather "in your face" ep, so I'm pretty sure I didn't miss much.

Anyhoo... on to the quick stuff!

Ewwwww...! Moment:

Oh, what to choose, what to choose? You knew *something* had to be up when the WB was actually warning parents that this was going to be a nasty ep, didn't you?

Sibling Rivalry Moment:

Okay - it was a wee bit forced, but the scene with Spike and Angel on the couch was just too funny. The way that they interact (complete with interruptions, sighs, and eye rolls) completely remind me of my sons when they're exasperated with each other. I'm sincerely hoping that this aspect of their relationship is developed as the season goes forward.

Nekkid!Spike Moment:

Hey, wow! It's only the fourth show of the season, and the writers have already resorted to Nekkid!Spike sightings! (If this is what they're doing now, what will happen during sweeps?) Seriously... the way it was presented was completely in keeping with the storyline, and seeing Spike "dress" himself was just too cool... but after the way JM and his admittedly good-looking bod was shamelessly used for ratings during S6 of BtVS...

She’s Really Irritating Me Moment:

Do we have to have Eve around? Sheesh…

And now, on to the big stuff...

First off:

GO FRED! Oh, I am *so* loving this girl this week. Seeing her banter with Spike and eventually be the one to be his almost-saviour because she truly *believes* in him is something this fan can't get enough of. I especially loved seeing her put Angel in his place when he started in with his usual "Spike is eeeeeeeee-vil and meeeeee-an" routine. Whoo hoo!

On a slightly more analytical note:

And then there's Fred. Fred, who's perfectly willing to help Spike, and indeed seems to be the only person who's taking his predicament seriously, is the same girl who has no issues with standing up to his bluster and telling him where to stick it. I'm looking forward to seeing Spike develop a true friendship with her – we're seeing it start already. And no, I don't think that we're going to see anything "shippy" between these two – which would be a good thing for Spike. He needs to have some true friends to lean on – even if he can't "touch" them right now.

I'm honestly wondering if we're going to "officially" learn that Spike's presence is making Angel uncomfortable because he is a physical reminder of Angel's dark side. Angel wallows in the melodrama a bit this ep, but he makes an important statement: he truly believes that he's going to be going to hell when all is said and done, because no amount of good that he does now can make up for all of the evil things he's done in his lifetime. Spike, meanwhile, thinks that Angel's got everything handed to him (as usual, in Spike's opinion), which means that Spike really doesn't have anything to live for, either.

Except... Spike's the one in the end who makes a huge sacrifice to make sure that Pervayne is put into a place where he can't hurt innocents any longer. Angel gets clean-up duty, but Spike did the dirty work - and seemed to enjoy it to boot. At the end of the ep, he gets serious and tells Fred that maybe he doesn't have it so bad after all - and that he equates the possibility of leaving the spirit realm to become a physical being again (leaving Pervayne behind in the process) to *being* like Pervayne.

To all you Spike non-believers out there:

This*, if nothing else, should show you that the writers have made a commitment. Spike may be brash, he may even be a bit rude at times, but he's a GOOD guy, dang it. He had nothing to win but his self-respect with this decision, and he lost what looks like his only chance to become an independent, *whole* being again. He didn't do it for Fred, he didn't do it for Buffy... he did it because it was *right*. Gotta love it.

(And... it goes back to what Fred said in the beginning of the show to Angel. Makes you wonder when Angel will get out of his funk and get back on the "Helping the Helpless" bandwagon, doesn't it?)

Quotes of the Night:

"It's about doing what's right, remember?" Fred, smacking Angel over his head with what the group's mission is *supposed* to be.

Dear Hubby Quote of the Night:

"Whoa." ('Nuff said.)

Furry Spike Score:

Let's see... Spike saves the day, gets in some witty banter with Angel, and is on-screen for a good chunk of the episode. Furry!Spike's giving this one 4 paws and a twitch of the tail.

Overall Score:

I've gotta give this one a 8.5 out of 10. I would have given it a 9 out of 10, but the sound editing made it difficult for me to understand some of what Wes and Spike said. Then again, it could be that I have to watch this on "normal" broadcast TV while we're in our temporary living quarters (I miss my digital cable!). Loved the risks the storyline took, and loved that Spike had to confront some of his demons along the way. And I *really* loved that it was *Spike* who truly saved the day. Yippee!

That's all for this week... next week looks - interesting.

Hugs to all,

Kris

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