Buffy Challenge Post 51: Season 6: Episodes 3 – 4

After Life

Previously on Buffy……. Spike loves Buffy …… Buffy doesn’t love Spike…… Buffy does a swan dive off the tower and dies…… Willow raises Buffy from the dead but forgets to dig up the coffin first…… demon bikers attack Sunnydale ….. Buffy and Dawn reunite

This starts right off the bat with the bikers leaving town and the gang wondering if Buffy is really Buffy? Anya has a good point, she should of thought the whole “raising from the dead” thing through, I guess there wouldn’t be a 6th season if she didn’t. Dawn take Buffy home……

Buffy looks upset and finally utters her first words “It’s different…” Buffy seems to be in a daze….. those wounds are really bad….. So Terra and Willow moved into Mum’s room, while Buffy is wondering what she has missed out on. Spike better watch what he says about Dawn. It takes a lot for Spike to be speechless. Spike the nurse (another Buffy spin off that didn’t make it….) 147 days gone but Buffy has felt like it was longer.

There is something to this whole Buffy in the spiritual dimension thing happening. “Jetlag from hell has to be….. jetlag from hell!” Willow is trying to justify her actions and I think Anya knows what Buffy has gone through. Spike is a little annoyed that he wasn’t told, has Buffy come back wrong? Will Willow get “rid” of her? Spike is right there is always consequences to magic and come to think of it, everything we do.

Willow is not unworried, is that a double negative? I’m not sure this has gone right, the spell did get interrupted. I’ve felt that kind of disconnection with close friends before. Now that can’t be normal, seeing her friends skulls. Buffy is going crazy, “I know what you did” is that a reference to Hubbie’s movie? Could Buffy be possessed by the baby deer Willow killed? That can’t be a dream as both Willow and Tara saw it.

Now Xander is seeing things …. the hitch hiker is out to get them! Good old Anya, always tells it like it is. The gang is getting back to business hitting the books. The thing has possessed Dawn, the cloudy eyes kind of give it away. Oh and also the fire breathing teenager, that is not normal. This is an episode based on ‘I know what you did last summer.”

Spike is back in his lair as he hears things go bump in the night, it’s only Buffy. This episode has way to much exposition and not enough action. It’s almost like they should of made this bargaining part 3. I really don’t like love struck whiney Spike.

If Xander is starting to agree with Spike then you know he must be really concerned. So the demon is a side effect, great and the only way they can get rid of it is to reverse the spell, which means kill Buffy again. Talk about bad luck! The demon will only need to kill Buffy to survive and they let it know! Nice going Willow!

Buffy vs something she can’t physically touch, a bit of an unfair fight. Willow and Terra even up the fight be trying to solidify the demon. Which caused the fight to last a total of 12 seconds as Buffy cuts off it’s head which leads to…..

Sunshine and summer dresses.

All is well again in the world of Buffy, however I don’t think Buffy is that happy with everything. She thanks them for bringing her back and we get the big group hug. Spike over heard the Super-friends! another DC reference! That will be $1 for asking if Buffy was Ok Spike. She was what? Buffy didn’t want to be brought back? Buffy was taken from heaven? and brought back to earth by her best friends, this is going to be interesting.

A mediocre episode saved by the big reveal at the end….. why are we tormented like that, at least it should set things up for the rest of this season I hope. So that wraps up the story of how they got Buffy back from the dead for a 6th season, lets hope it is worth it.

5/10 (would of been a 4 if it wasn’t for the reveal at the end.)

Flooded

Previously on Buffy….. Buffy finds her mother dead….. Xander proposes to Anya….. Buffy sacrifices herself and dies….. Giles goes to London….. Willow raises Buffy from the dead…… Buffy is in shock from coming back….. Buffy confides in Spike that she was taken from heaven and she is now in hell. (That’s a lot to catch up on!)

Buffy vs the plumbing!!! Dawn’s got her money on the plumbing, and she wins that bet! I guess the episode is called flooded for a reason….

Obviously there is no water restrictions in Sunnydale as Buffy wastes more water. The plumber comes in with big dollar signs in his eyes. The bills really do pile up when your dead, I guess they don’t give life insurance to slayers. So Buffy didn’t get a sense of humor in heaven. Buffy the vampire slayer for hire! Spider-man doesn’t charge for saving lives but he does make a living out of it with all the pictures he takes. Anya is annoyed about the lack of engagement announcement. That is a good question by Anya, why won’t he tell everyone that he and Anya are engaged. I think Xander is wrong on this one and Anya almost bought it.

When is Xander going to grow up? Nice little montage of Buffy practicing for the loan. Ok, the banker has lost me, here comes Buffy’s job through the window right on cue. It’s hard to fight demons in a business skirt. Even after saving the bank she still couldn’t get a loan. (I loved that scene!) Willow trying to get Buffy mad, that is going to be difficult. (Willow’s sleazy affair with Angle… Right!)

Anya is trying to get Xander to grow a pair! This is good stuff with the gang trying to find out what robbed the bank. Giles is back! Does the man only have the one jacket or does he have 4 or 5 of the same type? Giles is trying to get a grip of the whole situation and he can see that Buffy is still not right. Anya is letting Giles know that he can’t have the store back.

On to the demon and his motivations. which turns out to be 3 nerds sitting at home playing doom. They are annoying! Flying demon monkey’s are cool! Is everyone staying at Buffy’s house right now? Giles assures Buffy that they will work out the financial problems. Back to the nerds and they are debating how they are going to get out of the whole “demon wants to kill them mess” We find out that these three geniuses want to take over Sunnydale while playing dungeons and dragons. I love their to do list:

Control the weather.

Miniaturize Fort Knox

Conjure Fake I.Ds

Shrink Ray

Girls

Girls

The Gorilla Thing

They are not going to kill Buffy (like they could.) So they sent the monster to Buffy…. using his Jedi mind trick (her address).

Willow is trying to explain the spell to Giles and he rebukes her for it. Willow doesn’t understand why Giles is upset with her, and did I just hear Willow threaten Giles? Spike has become Buffy’s confidant of sorts and any money that this touching moment will be interrupted by the money grubbing demon.  I guess I was wrong. Nope he interrupts Dawn and Giles. Buffy comes in and is more concerned about the damage to the house than fighting the demon. She works her way down to the flooded basement where she takes out her financial issues out  on the demon.

The nerds are our villains for the season it seems. (I so want a periscope in my room!) Giles is back in the USA with a splitting headache. Buffy is struggling with her mortality. Angel calls and I guess this means crossover……

Well that was a huge improvement, and has shown me why I am enjoying this show, the humor was great in this one and it was a fun little episode….. I can’t wait to see what “Revenge of the Nerds" has installed for us….

7/10

Well that will do it for this time, just remember if your planning to take over your town make sure you get your parents permission to use the basement.