Beneath You

Rating: Five Stars

My favorite set of lines was:
"Are you completely out of your mind?"
"Well yeah, Slayer, where have you been all night?"

When I first sat and watched the episode, the screen went black to closing credits and my mouth hung open in shock. My husband walked into the room and asked how I liked it.

My response:

"Oh. My. God. Wow."

"Oh my God wow good? Or oh my God wow, bad?"

"It was probably one of the best episodes I've ever seen."

"Ugh. That means it was heavy with the angst factor."

"Noooo - " I shook my head. "It was just a payoff for the last six years."

That sums up Beneath You better than any review I could write. I can't enthuse about the acting or the characters enough. Every single one hit the mark and hit it wonderfully. I liked every scrap and aspect we were shown. Ultimately, the episode leads to the confrontation in the Church. But lets touch some high points on the way there:

Frankfurt, Germany - Last week it was Istanbul, this week it's Frankfurt. Another girl is pursued and slain. Only this time, Buffy jerks awake from the dream, which carried a warning. So the question then becomes was last week a dream as well? Who are these girls who are dying? Are they potential slayers? Are they slayers in the future? The teasing tidbits aren't explained, but the warning is definitely ominous.

"From beneath you it will devour."

Anya: Her perkiness is always refreshing, whether she's seeking vengeance or making sales. I loved how bored she was in the Bronze talking to the various women there. I think it's a comment that most have missed that Anya hasn't left Sunnydale. As a vengeance demon, she certainly doesn't need to stay there, yet she does. After her conversation with Halfrek last week, it also looks like she's compensating.

Dawn: I would have to say this episode is Dawn light and while I enjoyed what screen time she had, I didn't miss her for the rest of the episode. I like the idea that Dawn doesn't have to tagalong for everything and what's more, SHE has figured it out as well. Her warning to Spike seemed borderline between cute and scary. She seemed absolutely sincere, which is where the scary part comes from.

Xander: Xander's matured in subtle ways. He's not just reacting, he's thinking on his feet and he's not just jumping to conclusions. Yes, he and Dawn were both snipey about Buffy having not mentioned that she saw Spike last week, but they seemed to get over it quickly. He also buttoned his lip when Buffy made her decision. These are small leaps, but significant. I enjoyed his interaction with the woman they were trying to help. It ached in a bittersweet fashion. I also liked his discomfort when she assumed that he and Buffy were an item. I like this Xander, he's still a bit snipey and wary and he definitely doesn't like Spike, but he also seems a little softer around the edges.

Willow: The jury is still out here on Willow, but I loved her interaction with Giles and how he quite matter-of-factly pointed out that she needed to deal with her past and her friends. Whether she waited two weeks or two years, she wasn't going to know if they would accept her back. Those relationships have changed, for better or for worse, she's going to have to take responsibility and deal with it. I think her homecoming could be REALLY interesting. Of course, as Giles also pointed out, whether they want her or not, they are going to need her.

Giles - What can I say, Giles!! Any episode with Giles in it is great!

Spike and Buffy: I'm putting them together for an obvious reason, the final scene of the episode, probably one of the most powerful in the show's seven years, drew out all the tension, pain, misunderstanding, miscommunication and emotion between these two characters. I'm loving confident Buffy, again. This is the Buffy we saw in fifth season, who knows herself and what she needs to do. This is also the Buffy that doesn't leap to every bad conclusion. From her willingness to talk to Spike at the house to their varied reactions as they danced around their past.

I loved watching Spike struggle with these new features of his soul while trying desperately not to let on. If anyone out there wondered about him using it as a bludgeon, they couldn't have been more wrong. He wants to talk to her, but like he summed up, they really aren't friends anymore and he can't apologize and she can't forgive. They have to figure out a new way. The friction and tension increased deliciously as the episode moved on. When Anya was about to reveal what had happened, Spike went for the distraction mode and it definitely distracted.

Finally, we come to the Church and Buffy is trying very hard to understand. She pushes him to tell her and when he does: Oh. My. God. Buffy looked pole-axed and horrified. She put the pieces together before he finally was able to admit it out loud. For myself, the horror in her expression seemed directed at the idea that Spike would do this to "himself." She couldn't fathom why, but of course she could and I think that contributed to her horror. He willingly did it for her and it takes all of her suppositions about their relationship and spins it up into the air of uncharted territory.

I wanted to cry and to shout as he broke down and told her that all the voices, "his" "it" and "them" keep telling him to go to hell. So, the big reveal made, he lays himself, a supplicant against the cross and lets it burn his flesh. Can he please rest now? He's told her the truth, can he sleep now? Will it all end?

Close credits.

Blown away, flabbergasted and immensely satisfied with the last two weeks of Buffy, I can only hope that the consistency and quality continue. It was a payoff for all the horridness last year and at the same time, a neat launch of the next phase in their story.

So, how else do we end this other than: Where do we go from here?

---

Heather Long