Villains

<Kris plops down in her Comfy Chair, takes a look around... and suddenly notices her surroundings. "Hey! What am I doing here in Spike's crypt?">

Eeeeewwwww.

After watching the last ten minutes of this episode, that's about all I could think of.

Eeeeewwwww. Again.

And Ugh. Grrr. Argh. Bleh. All Over Body Shivers.

I knew from reading some of the commentary on this list that this was going to be an intense episode... but I honestly wasn't expecting to feel so drained at the end. Wow. Say what you will about Marti "I will make you Feel!My!Pain!" Noxon, but the woman can write one heckuva story.

Let's skip the recap and get right to the Yays and Yucks, shall we?

<kris pops open a Diet Coke, and hauls out the Ben & Jerry's...>

Let's start with a big YAY for Buffy! Did flatlining (again!) finally get this girl back on track? She's finally sticking up for her ideals (as twisted as they may be), even in the face of what would admittedly make most of us want to look the other way if something horrible were to happen to Warren... and she even has the guts to stand up to Xander when she's doing it. For some reason this season, Avoidance!Buffy has seemed reluctant to stand up for herself lately to Willow and Xander, for whatever reason (not wanting them to know how she really feels, not wanting to offend them, etc)... but tonight Strong!Buffy was back in the house. I didn't realize how much I missed her... especially when she was able to make her point without being strident about it. That combination has been sorely lacking this season. Perhaps Buffy is finally starting to Grow-Up-Already.

And speaking of Buffy speaking up for herself... how about her hushing of Xander over his objections in regards to Spike? I also finally respected the character for swallowing her own pride and wants in order to provide Dawn the best shot she has at being kept safe... it shows some real maturity on her part. Again - not so happy with what Spike did last week - but what does this show about what Buffy feels about what happened?

Hmmm...

Now onto a big YUCK! Let's start with the summary of past events that opened the show... what was with not showing any of the Spikey Remorse scenes? Especially after everything that we now know about the timing of that particular scene being added to last week (and who was most likely behind the addition in the first place)? Ugh.

Somehow, that's not a big enough Yuck. So... let's add the mental picture of Jonathan serving as Parking Ticket Guy's Butt Monkey. Yuck. So did *not* need to go there.

<shudder>

I think another YAY! is in order... how about Spike's handling of himself in the cave? (Oh, you knew I couldn't go for too long without talking about it, didn't you?) When I was getting my tape ready for tonight's ep, I rewatched all the important scenes (read: Spike scenes) from last week's ep... and I noticed something kinda sad... credit the director, or JM... but the use of posture in conveying Spike's feelings about his situation and himself has really been a silent clue as of late. Spike didn't stand up straight at all during last week's episode... he was all hunchy, slouchy, beaten down... just not looking like he had any self-esteem or self-respect left (which, we all know, he really didn't)... *until* Clem made his fateful comment. When Spike straightens up from leaning on the sarcophagus, it's not just the look on his face that gets your attention... it's the vaguely predatory way in which he's carrying himself that does the trick.

And so, this week, when we cut to the scene of Spike in the desert, striding along with some of his old bravado back, it's a great thing to see. You can tell that it's not the same Big Bad stride that he had when we first met him (granted, part of it is probably due to the sand...) - it's just a little off - but he's walking along as a Man-On-A-Mission. I'm not going to repeat everything that I've seen on the list in terms of reviews of the scene... but suffice it to say that we can clearly see that Spike, in the words of my husband and Clem, "has issues." And yes, they left it wide open... I can't wait to see what the trials are. I'm still conflicted over where I want this to go... and I think that the writers *want* us to be wondering. Yes, we all know that Spike blames the chip for all of his problems... and yes, we all know that he doesn't *like* how things are... he doesn't like being told that he's "Lower" than anyone (remember Cecily, anyone?)... last week he told Clem that Buffy would never *lower herself" to his level...

But he also remembers the good times he had being the Big Bad - not having to worry about the reprecussions of his actions, being able to wreak havoc at will... and not having to constantly keep his base instincts in check. And he desperately wants that freedom back.

Or does he, really?

Ugh. It's enough to make your head hurt just thinking about all the possibilities.

So... I got my Dear Hubby's opinion.

Kris: "So... from a guy's perspective, what do you think Spike wants?"

Dear Hubby: "He wants the chip out. Duh. He wants to go back to being a vampire."

Kris: "Okay..."

Dear Hubby: "But I don't think that's what he's going to get. I think he's going to become human." (Dear Hubby snickers a bit)

Kris: "So you're saying that he's going to get screwed, at least in his mind."

Dear Hubby: "Oh yeah. But in his mind, he already got screwed."

Hmmmm...

Back to the Yays and Yucks, shall we?

A big YAY! for continuity! How about Rack's reappearance? It tied in well with the flow of the episode... and also provided some plot twists (such as the essence of Warren being in the robot) that I wasn't expecting... Wow.

And another Yay! for getting all of the characters on-screen again... and giving them something to do that advanced the story along. Anya's revelation of her demonness to Xander was great - loved him being taken aback, and her snarky reply to his "when did this happen?" question. I also loved that she was able to use her powers to help out, even though she didn't have to do it... it shows, like we've been getting shown all season, that demons truly can exist in the world of Gray. Dawn's mention of her attempted resurrection of her Mom was a nice touch, too.

And now, for the biggest Yuck of all. You got it... Dark!Willow and all things associated with same. Did anyone else notice her line about Tara's death "... taking everything that was light" away from her? Was Tara providing the counterbalance to Willow's dark tendencies all this time? It's hard to say... but this is definitely a woman who is way past the edge. She's even past the wild Wiley E. Coyote flailing when she's off the precipice - she's plummeting downwards, and accelerating. The torture and skinning of Warren was just creepy... "Bored Now." <shudder again> I appreciated that she brought Buffy back... but why did she do it? Was it because she expected that Buffy would help her in her Vengeance Quest against Warren? And will she feel that Buffy has an obligation to her now? And if she does.... will she try to call that obligation in?

(And if she does call the obligation in... how will Buffy feel about that? Will she be, in Spike's words, a welsher?)

Oy. Let's move onto the quick thoughts, shall we?

Buffy's reaction to finding out that Spike left town: sad for Buffy, but Yay for B/S shippers (sorry, I'm a shipper - had to throw that in there!). I feel bad for Dawn though... she's really getting left alone again, isn't she?

Warren's smugness in the demon bar: Yuck. But then again, you knew he had it coming, so....

Clem babysitting Spike's crypt: Hee hee! Loved it... Dear Hubby's comment: "Clem's a cool guy."

Willow calling on Osiris once again... oh boy. You just *knew* that couldn't be something that would end well... even if you hadn't seen the promo for this week.

Willow's new method of studying: Okay, that was cool... (and the visuals were terrific)... can I learn to do that so I can absorb my system documentation I need to read for supporting our systems at work? Computer-speak is just as arcane as what she was reading (and my users think it's just as evil)...

<ahem>

Willow's location spell for Warren: creepy. Big shivers again.

Spike's angry declaration that he *is* a warrior. Kinda funny when you remember back to Willow's resurrection of Buffy... when she referred to Buffy as the "Warrior" of the people... is that supposed to be a hint of things to come?

Willow's new look: As Buffy would say: "Okay, I get it. You're *eeee-vil.*" But it was neat to see the transformation.

Dawn keeping vigil over Tara's body: it was a nice touch. The two people who were alone together so much this season sharing one last final moment... it was sad, it was disturbing... but it was so perfect. It was also a nice parallel to last season, when Buffy discovered her Mom's dead body on the couch... this time Dawn discovered her surrogate mother's body on the floor. Not an experience you would normally want to have to tie two sisters together... but it fits the story.

Oh, my head is spinning again. Let me end this train of thought with this earlier mention of Spike and his current state of mind:

"But he also remembers the good times he had being the Big Bad - not having to worry about the reprecussions of his actions, being able to wreak havoc at will... and not having to constantly keep his base instincts in check. And he desperately wants that freedom back."

And now, we see Willow - good, sweet, helpful Willow... Not Worrying about the reprecussions of her actions... being able to wreak havoc at will... and not constantly keeping her base instincts in check. And she *desperately* wants to keep this feeling of freedom.

Kiddies, I think we're in for a ride. All season I've been wondering if we were being set up for a parallel storyline between Willow and Spike... they're both geeky types who *don't* like being perceived, or treated, as such... and while they both have an incredible loyalty to the people they consider friends (almost a fealty in some respects), they both have shown that they will strike out on their own if they're pushed too far out of the direction in which they want to go. They can both hurt people in incredible ways without meaning to do so... and they're also both capable of great acts of kindness. They're also capable, as we've seen, of great acts of *intentional* evil.

So. Willow's apparently headed down the path of BIG BAD EVIL... and she's been shown as the Goody-Two-Shoes who strayed this season. Spike's heading down an unknown path... does this mean that he's heading towards the light and Goodness? We almost always saw Willow in the shadows for most of the episode tonight... the more the episode wore on, and the darker she became (and granted, it was night time), the more she tended to stand in the darkness. Spike, however, was presented as being half in the light, half in the dark... to the point of him stepping into the light at the end of his confrontation with the demon. What does that mean for next week?

Alright... time to wrap this up.

But, I just gotta say... I never knew that my Comfy Chair was in Spike's crypt.

Too cool.

I'll be sure to say hello to Clem on behalf of all of us.

---

Kris