Buffy Challenge Post 64: Season 7: Episodes 9 – 10

Never Leave Me

Welcome back to another instalment of the Buffy Challenge, we are nearing the finish line in this epic 7 season journey….

Previously, the nerds are back and Jonathon gets knifed for his trouble…. Dawn see’s a  premonition of Joyce and she warns her not to trust Buffy. Willow is giving Buffy an ominous warning about what is to come, and it’s not looking good. Spike is talking about the murders around the world and he is some how two people one evil, one wossie. Giles gets attacked right at the end of the last episode and the cliff hanger is where they leave us!

The gang is cleaning up the house, while Ghost Warren is ready to move to the next phase of the plan. Stabbing is a skill that takes years to learn.

Buffy ties up Spike for his own good, I’m not sure that it will help as even Spike is afraid of what might become….

Principal Wood is flexing his Muscles, however the bluff was called by the kids, I’m not sure the nice guy routine works too well with teenagers. Buffy is calling in a Sick day as she tries to find the whereabouts of Giles, however the council are not so helpful and it seems they know what is going on….

Evil Spike is back, good thing he is tied up, I’m not sure if Willow was kidding about killing Anya! Buffy is holding up strong.

The two nerds are about to kill a pig, Andrew had no problem knifing his friend but a little piglet….. a little too difficult. Second option, go to the butcher. Not the best time to drop the bag with blood when Willow is standing there.

Andrew is struggling to justify his existence and Willow has had enough and gives him the what for! Andrew has been captured and is being interrogated by the gang. This is going to be good! Anya makes an AWESOME bad cop! This is all a plan to get him to talk. Unfortunately not much is coming out of Spike in his evil state, but good Spike won’t SHUT UP!

Xander with the good cop routine…. I wouldn’t be bringing up the whole Spike  and Anya hooking up right now. Great build up to scare Andrew, Anya takes it a step further and gets a slap in on Xander for good measure.

Evil Spike returns to torment good Spike. The switch happens and Spike breaks free and bites Andrew. If only it was another musical. Good thing Xander is there to figure it out for me and explain it to me. A trigger you say….

Back to school and Principal Wood takes a trip to the basement to discover Jonathan’s body, he doesn’t seem so surprised to see it. Spike by the way thinks the best way to solve this issue he is having is for Buffy to kill him. Just what this episode needed, NINJA’S!

unfortunately they are just mad monks not ninjas….  Monks with Ninja skills. Dawn hesitated and it nearly cost her life, good thing Xander was there to help. With all the commotion happening, Spike is gone. Buffy has figured it out, but I’m still confused.

Melbourne ….. WOOO!!! The Council are working overtime and now we find out the villain of the piece is THE FIRST EVIL! We’re at WAR PEOPLE!

Spike’s fate is being revealed as he is being torched by his evil self. who morphs into Buffy. Spike’s blood opens up a portal of some sort and we have the return of…… The MASTER I think ….. CRAP!

5/10

Bring On The Night

Previously …. People are getting killed all over the place, Jonathan is murdered and found by the Principal who casually buries him. Andrew is captured, Spike gets kidnapped and his blood raises the Big Bad for the season…..

Xander’s lot in life is to fix the windows of the Summer’s house. Anya’s not so impressed about the stories of the First…. Nice hit Dawn, just having a little too much fun whacking Andrew around…

Buffy see’s her mother and doesn’t believe her eyes, it was all a dream. To Spike and we are witnessing a ritual of mass evil, we see the evil transform to Drusilla as she torments Spike even more. Nice fade to black into the title sequence. The girls are trying to wake up Andrew and no Dawn, hot water is not a good idea! Lex is an evil name! Andrew takes them back to the scene of Jonathan's murder. I am really confused by all of this. Wonder Woman issue #299!

The gang runs into the Principal who is acting mighty weird, “never trust a principal with a shovel” Whoa, Willow has gone CRAZY!!!! Magic won’t help. Good thing Giles has returned, but where has he been. So there was a reason for the girls around the world getting murdered, they were potential slayers. The Council was destroyed in the last episode and it was so quick even I missed it. ANYA IS AWESOME!!!!  Shut up Andrew! The first seems to be working in a way that is difficult to articulate. It can change forms and is hunting the Slayers line to take over the world.

Time to build up an army to fight the first evil! Back to Spike and  Drusilla is tormenting him. Andrew still doesn’t get this whole Slayer deal, Hey Willow it seems you have an admirer.

Buffy finds the entrance to the cave by falling into it. Which leads to a fist fight between the Slayer and the Super Vampire, who can’t be killed by a stake…..

one thing this show does really well is the fighting choreography. The next day and after escaping Giles gives us the lowdown on what she was fighting. It was a super vampire as I said working for the First.

Nice cover Buffy! Evil Movies indeed! I really don’t trust this Principal, teachers on this show have either been EVIL or get killed quickly.

Spike has a nice shiner as the Drusilla “evil” keeps up the torment and tries to recruit Spike to the dark side to no effect. Buffy is really banged up and now she is hallucinating again in the middle of a therapy session, poor Roger!

Xander is really handy with the woodwork. The newbie's are not ready if you ask me. No one asked your opinion Andrew! I love the Riddler! As this is happening the snobby new girls runs off and gets killed for her trouble by Super Vamp. Buffy is going to struggle here against this seemingly unstoppable force. Does crushing it work? Apparently not! This fight is awesome, unfortunately Buffy is on the wrong end of the brick wall.

This looks like it’s impossible for Buffy and the gang to win this fight, after everything she has gone through, they have really raised the stakes for the finale. The battle lines have been drawn and General Buffy is firing the first shot! 

Buffy Challenge Post 63: Season 7: Episodes 7 - 8

Conversations with Dead People

Previously….. We are seeing everyone who died Tara, Warren, and Cathy oh and Spike still crazy!

Interesting starting with the episode title November 2002, way to depress us early! everyone is looking sad….. Hey cheer up Buffy it’s time to go to work.

Finally we are catching up with our favourite nerds from season 6, why would they be coming back? I want to learn Mexicanian.

While the Cat’s away….. Dawn is running a muck in the house.

To the library and Willow runs into a ghost who has a message from Tara. Back to Dawn and she is watching an old (and public domain) movie. The storm is brewing and I hate it when you try to unplug the TV and it doesn’t turn off, um hacking it with an axe is going a little overboard.

Buffy is catching up with an old college who is a vampire right now. Should Buffy be giving tips to new Vampires?

Rumours of what Buffy was like at school…. just what we all need Buffy being analysed by a vampire….  Dawn is going crazy and this is skirting too close to a horror movie for my liking.

Gotta love the nerds doing their best (or worst) Tom Cruise impersonation. Great plan boys, just one issue, I’m not sure Buffy would want to be buddies. WARREN??? he was Skinned…. “THE MASTER PLAN!” So Warren is now OBI WAN KINOBI? LOVE THE STAR WARS REFERENCES! So because Willow killed, she can’t see Tara (it’s more the fact that the actress playing Tara couldn’t fit the episode in her schedule.)

Another Spinoff that didn’t work back then but with the whole Vampire craze right now might work, “Vampire Psycho-Annalist!” it’s kind of like a mixture of “True blood and Frasier”

“I was afraid to talk to you at high school, now we’re mortal enemies!” Does Buffy have a superiority complex? or is she really just suffering from clinical depression?

For a second there I thought Buffy was going to be bitten.

Back to Dawn and I’m not enjoying this story thread at all. I’m so having nightmares tonight! To the nerds…. and they are at the hell mouth?

This is a great battle between Buffy and a Vampire who is getting really into Buffy’s head. Some great moments. Back to Willow and her chat with “Not Tara” A warning from the beyond….

Back to the nerds and they are reminiscing old times. Poor Jonathon, but I love his attitude though. Dawn and magic, not a good mix. Who are you fooling Buffy, we all want to be loved.

An inferiority complex about her superiority complex, ok our time is up now it’s time to kill! Nope, this guy knows Spike so the story continues. Dawn’s little horror run is over and we see a returning Joyce.

Willow is dealing with some real issues, I don’t trust this girl, and it’s because she wants Willow to kill herself. Spike is back to his biting ways, and Joyce is planting a seed of doubt in Dawns head. Jonathan gets stabbed, and Willow has seen the face of evil as it seems we are setting up for the big bang to end this season…..

I enjoyed 3 out of the 4 story lines…… so many questions…..

6/10

Sleeper

Previously …. Something is coming…. Spike moves in with Xander….. murders around the world…… Dawn gets a warning…. So does Willow and Spike kills again…..

good to see Xander and it looks like this episode has began right where the last one left off as Buffy is looking for Spike. It seems that he is trying to bury the evidence of his last kill. It doesn’t make sense, what happen to the chip in his head? or the whole soul thing?

London England, and we see another international murder or two. Willow is first to find Dawn and the disaster that is the Summers house. Willow tries to let Dawn know that what she see’s is not all right.

Xander has never been Spike’s biggest fan, well this is awkward…. Spike comes it and is surprised to see Buffy there. It’s great to see Anya again, and that was a low blow Xander! Famous last words “your going to be fine!” Dawn is filling Buffy into what has been going on. The enemy is striking at their heart. Back to Anya and she is freaking out!!! I’m not sure snooping around Spike’s room while he is napping is the best of ideas.

Nice save Anya, is Spike a little shell shocked? Um Anya, your meant to be keeping Spike home? or not? Crowded place and Spike still has the moves!!! He is bad alright! Don’t you hate it when your Ex interrupts your feeding. Why would Buffy just stand there and let him kill her? Is there another Spike running around?

What is going on? Back to the library and the gang is trying to find evidence of Spike’s biting. Xander is the new Giles always getting punched, interesting though the chip kicked in. Spike is doing some back tracking, why am I not surprised that no one at the bar remembers. Spike is being picked up by a vampire which leads a great fight!

“Billy Idol wannabe!”

Buffy get’s a step closer to what is going on. “I hate playing vampire towns” how many vampire towns are there?

2 spikes? what’s up with that? We finally see who Spike has been talking to and it seems to be himself. This is a mystery that is getting weirder and weirder, as Spike turns and rises the army of the undead. Blood of the slayer has done something to jog his memory, which gives Buffy a fighting chance.

The Soul is playing havoc with Spike or is it the place? He wants to die, and sometimes living is a fate worse than death. There is a deeper mystery involved in this season and it’s not showing it’s hand yet.

Giles comes in to tie up the London murder. “BEHIND YOU!”

what bizarre 2 episodes it has be intrigued for what is about to come!

7/10

Well that end’s another challenge …. and remember kids, if your evil self tells you to do something, try to ignore it!

Buffy Challenge Post 62: Season 7: Episodes 5 – 6

Selfless

I hope this episode is better than the disaster that was last episode….

Previously The troll dated Anya… Anya explains everything that is happening….. this is an ANYA episode! AWESOME!!!

Dawn is giving life advice to Willow…… Right! That will help…… Xander is still hung up on Anya, giddy! New word….. I still don’t know why he left her at all! Dead bodies everywhere and Anya in the middle….. this can’t be good for her self esteem.

 

Back in the day, I love the effect of the sepia. Thankfully they gave me the translation for “ha ha ha” Hey Baltic women are hot!

Back to reality where the blood is being washed from Anya’s hands, while Spike explains his new found humanity to Buffy. Has Buffy fallen again for Spike? nope just his imagination. This Buffy is less sympathetic.

Willow is back at college and she runs into a dishevelled Anya coming out of the frat house where she went on a killing spree of some sort. Willow discovers the horrors that have been left in Anya’s wake. She discovers a poor girl hiding in the cupboard, GIANT COMPUTER BUG!!! good thing Willow still has the  magic thing happening.

Back to the old country and we see the origin of Olaf the troll, Anya is being recruited to the vengeance demon team……

Good to see Buffy is working really hard, Anya is not handling her old form as a vengeance demon.  Willow enters and is in no mood to argue, Anya needs help and fast.

Black goo is never a good sign. Xander and Buffy are hunting spiders, good thing that Buffy is the axe throwing champion in Sunnydale. Willow fills them in and now Anya has to be slayed!

The history of Anya continues with her and her gabby friend in St. Petersburg in 1905. The emotional weight of this episode is amazing! Xander once again puts his foot in his mouth and his feelings for Anya is clouding his judgment. We are watching friends disintegrate but Buffy shows that if she kills the love of her life then what she has to do is set in stone.

Why is Willow calling the head Vengeance demon who tries to recruit her! Xander tries to help the situation by warning Anya, it only puts him in the middle of a CAT FIGHT!!!

WHAT JUST HAPPEN???

back to 2001 and we see happier times between the two back to the singing happiness that  happen last season in “once more with feeling!” An amazing voice in a truly Disney moment! Awe I was enjoying that, till we go back to the Sword in the chest!

Round 2 is on with Anya and Buffy going at it again, Xander for the Save.  King Vengeance is here to bring some sense in this. “Miss. hacks away!” Classic!

The price for Vengeance is Justice, to undo the deaths of twelve Anya has to die….

Noooo wait, what a great way to save this sticky situation….. kill off an annoying character and bring some more emotional pain and add another layer to an already complex one in Anya…..

Great Ending to a Great episode!

9/10

 

Him

Previously….. everything that happen last episode….

Spike is moving in with Xander ……. COMIC GOLD COMING UP!!! It seems that Buffy is happy to have Spike back into the fold seeing he has a soul.  Dawn and Buffy having a heart to heart about the whole Spike thing. Dawn tries to talk to Buffy and like what everyone else she is not listening, which leads to the Dawn “love at sight” moment.

Anya is hiding while Buffy kills a demon who was attacking Anya. I love when Anya calls it how she sees it!

OK TEEN ROM-COM coming up….. This is going to be painful, in a funny way! Dawn trying out for cheer leading in Buffy’s old cheer leading uniform was cringe worthy funny! Dawn is now becoming a brooding nasty teen….

Dawn’s crush is going to lead to some serious trouble, like the pushing down of the stairs of RJ’s rival! You can’t hide the truth from Buffy Dawn. Although it get’s results as RJ now notices our girl.

The guys get back to the Bronze and we see DAWN DANCING in a way that is clearly not G rated! TEEN ANGST…. Welcome to HELL Buffy! If RJ is a Vampire, I’m not going to be happy! RJ’s Girlfriend is not happy and we have another CAT FIGHT!!!! where Buffy cops it!

It seems that RJ is a PLAYA!!! or he has some sort of magic love potion happening as Buffy falling for Lover Boy! I really hope this episode ends in a big fight!

Buffy pulls out RJ from class….

“DEAR PENTHOUSE………”

Where is RJ getting this from? Buffy kisses the kid which leads to the typical Dawn catches them. Willow and Anya to the rescue as the Girls are fighting over this clown.

The Brain trust are Xander, Anya and Willow….. Xander remembers the good times when he was chased by hordes of women!

RJ’s brother is not much help until Spike noticed the Jacket, it’s all in the Jacket! RJ rocks up to the house where ALL the ladies are fighting over RJ ….. what a brillant scene with too many cool moments to document! and the whole Charlies Angels montage is great (except the whole Dawn lying on the tracks thing!)

WILLOW trying to change RJ into RJ-ya….. Stopped by Xander.

BUFFY with a rocket launcher!!!! Stopped by Spike!

Dawn lying on the train tracks……. saved by Buffy.

Anya was going to rob the bank.

Xander and Spike steal the jacket and burnt it.

What a funny episode…… I really enjoyed it as I laughed my way through it!

8/10!

Well folks I’m off to find myself one of those magic jackets……

See you next time for another Challenge!

Buffy Challenge Post 62: Season 7: Episodes 3 – 4

Same Time, Same Place

Previously … Willow kills, Giles takes her on a magic detox camp ... Ayna is a vengeance demon….. spike has his soul….

We are at the Airport and they are keen to see Willow again….. Oh Xander, always knows what to say! Oh no she didn’t finish not being Evil??? Where is Willow? you would think she would get there…… De ja vu? another dimension perhaps?

Graphite? oh that kid is going to die!!! Told you so! Serves him right if you ask me!!! Willow comes home to an empty house and I’m already confused…… in a good way!

The old tug on your heart strings by looking at old photo’s trick! Willow is all alone, however the rest of the gang are there at the same time …. can anyone same say magic mail box??? everyone is blaming each other and I’ve gotta say Dawn is not as obnoxious as she was in previous seasons…..

Great fade away effect, Back to Willow and she is starting to freak out, BIG TIME!!! Anya is always great for classic lines! Did Willow kill the gang in this time line???? The life of a vengeance demon always traveling! Ok so they are not dead, well where are they? Willow arrives at the abandoned construction and we see another skinned person and Buffy and Xander are dreading the similarity to Willow’s crime!

Back to Willow and we see the AWESOME Spike, still crazy….. Willow aslo saw the skinned kid and Spike reminds her of her kill! What did Spike do? is he the intermediary between the two? Spike see’s both Willow in one sense and Xander and Buffy in the other.

That is so annoying to be in his position! I love how Anya calls it down the middle… Oh so many good lines not enough time to type them all! “Remember our talk about the carpet???” that is the line I’m going with! Teleporting is a privilege so that trip to brazil was more pleasure than work!

Even though Anya is a demon once again, it seems that she has retained her human feelings…… It did get a little Sexy Anya, it did!

Product placement time kids ….. can you see it? Yes the Apple Mac! Dawn hits the net and finds out who is doing the skinning! It’s up to Spike to track the blood, Slow down Dawn! “I’m insane, what’s his Excuse?” at the same time Willow is also in the cave in her own little world. “All alone……” Well DERRRR

That has to be a record for the quickest time 3 people can state the obvious! Dawn get’s cut badly, as Willow is faced with an evil laugh, not even an enchantment will help! So the villain is a demon with the maturity of a 6 year old! Willow gets cut and this creepy thing starts sucking blood! Dawn is totally paralised, as we switch back to the goblin type creature who is playing with his food!

Anya just let them know that she saw Willow, (BTW in Brazil, Brazilian nuts are just called nuts!) Back to the disturbing image of the goblin carving up a helpless Willow! Only Anya can see Willow. Buffy gets scratched however nothing seems to happen! Buffy with a knife in the foot and poking out the eyes….. which I can’t watch. This kills the demon and the spell, YAY Willow is back!

Now for the closing heart to heart between Buffy and Willow, So Willow has become a tree hugging hippy witch! The big reveal……… Willlow made herself invisible and it kinds of harps back to season 1 when she felt the same way! Back to meditation and re bonding as friends.

A really solid episode, with some cool laugh out loud moments!

7/10

Help

Previously Willow returns, Buffy gets a Job as a councilor , Spike lives at school and Xander is working at the school doing construction …… and GO!

I never understood open casket funerals, although a coffin is a good place to hide to kill a vampire! The kid’s coffin has a child lock on it! priceless! Buffy is worried about school and we get a quick kill and Buffy agrees with me.

Back to school and Buffy has a bigger office than I do! First day on the job, and we get the classic montage of insecure teens. Hey it’s one of the kids from home improvement??? Violent teen girls, rare back then, now not so much!

Willow and Xander are reconnecting, with Xander giving a pep talk about her magic issues by comparing it to working on a construction site! Willow pays her respects to the love of her life, Tara.

Back at school, the kid who had nothing to say is now opening up…. his brother is off to war and he is worried!

Nice try kid!

Dawn getting advice was a little wasted.

Next, chick with purple highlights is predicting her death and now the story starts! freaky future predictions….. Buffy does the right thing by reporting it to the principal, who grew up on the mean streets of Beverly Hills!

Her premonition comes true with the spilt coffee….. where is this episode going???? The old using your position to access personal records of a weird student. FIRST MENTION OF GOOGLE!!!! some one wake me when something happens……”posting Dougie Howser Fan Fic!” how are they accessing all these records?

It seems there is a slew of sleazy actors in Hollywood and Cassie’s Dad is right up there! this episode is like watching paint dry….. another teen clique “white stripes tee shirt!”

American teens and their druid obsessions….. (more apple products)  Even Spike can’t save this train wreck! his soul is messing him up big time! (here is my impression that happen at the Buffy brainstorming meeting for this season:

Joss: “Ok who has an Idea for the 4th episode?”

Writer 1: “Hey how about we do an episode where a girl predicts that she is going to die on a day, and get this …… we watch the group sit around trying to figure out why she thinks like this will happen!”

Writer 2: “BRILLIANT!”

Writer 2: “Can we have a voice over scene where she reads poetry, and we see them surfing the INTERNET!”

Writer 1: “YES! The kids will love this internet thing!”

Joss: “Fine, just make sure there are kids dressed like druids in it! and a big demon like creature at the end!”

Buffy is right, this is LAME!!!

Spike with fire…..

Dear Whedonverse,

can I somehow please get the last 40 minutes of my life back?

faithfully yours,

a new fan.

after ALL THAT, she drops dead…… of boredom! (and an apparent heart condition!)

Que forced emotional ending…….. ah man there is still 54 seconds to go! and I’m still annoyed that Buffy has a bigger office than I do and I’ve been teaching for 10 years!

0/10

Buffy Challenge Post 61: Season 7: Episodes 1 – 2

Lessons

Well all good things have to come to an end as we start up the final season of Buffy!

Previously on Buffy ….. Tara gets shot…. Willow gets mad….. Buffy promise change …… and Spike gets what he wants in a soul!

 

ISTAMBUL …. got to love the middle eastern music! and we are at an international girl running for her life open to start the season. PARCORE….. Exteme…… What is it with mad monks and their knifes?

Buffy is giving Dawn Slayer training as we see the most incompetent vampire ever in the history of the show!!!! Buffy frees our friend and sicks her on Dawn, not a bad effort for a newbie… however Buffy needed to clean up the mess.

Buffy is forshadowing something horrible returning and she was right with the reopening of the school!

New credit sequence and we open up to cowboy Giles (wearing an Australian dry bone jacket!) who is comforting Willow after her loss from last season.  Willow makes the first Harry Potter reference as Giles drops some serious words of knowledge….

Xander in a suit, Buffy makes cereal as it seems that Xander is in charge of building the new school and it seems the principles office is over the hell mouth…… Arn’t all principles evil? Nice call back to the first season with the hyena people!

“Robin Wood”  the new principle worst teacher name EVER! Buffy takes a look around the new school and I must say it is very nice! Beware the creepy kid with the basketball….. you know there must be something wrong with the basement as it had the creepy music when it passed the sign….

Buffy is freaking out in the bathroom looking at her hair, then seeing the past failures, Just what Dawn needs to establish her popularity by having her sister barge into her room screaming it’s not safe!

Anya is looking like Angela from the Office and Anya is not living up to her reputation as a vengeance demon.  Buffy passes her concerns to Xander as Dawn now is seeing things, not the best start to a new school!

Well this confirms it, the female bathroom is the source of ALL EVIL! as it seems that Dawn and Buffy are not the only ones who have seen things at the school. Principle Woods is letting Buffy know he has a good idea of her activities at school. Dawn and her new friend get sucked into the floor in a really cool scene.

Switch to Willow’s magical detox and there seems to be a link with the things she sees and what has just happen in the school. It seems like it’s attack of the Zombies as Buffy tries to get Dawn suspended as we move to the age of mobile phones with Dawn calling for backup!

Revenge of the dead as the zombies try to stop Buffy from getting to the door….. Spike? he is behind this? or a prisoner? The suttle changes in his character amazing!  So they are not ghosts or zombies but manifested spirits to get revenge.  I think I like soulless Spike better.

What better way to fight Evil than with bricks in a bag! which doesn’t work too well! being a teacher I know what it is like never to leave school. Good thing Buffy arrives and shows Dawn how to swing a brick bag! Xander finds the talismen and breaks the spell! Yay Xander the unsung hero, again!

It seems we have the makings of the junior scooby gang! So Principle Woods is offering Buffy a job at the school, well what a great way to keep the season contained in the school. Spike is hallucinating seeing all of the major villains that Buffy as fought throughout the years……. the final speech was very intriguing, and the punch line makes me wonder about Buffy’s role at the school.

Well not a bad start to the season where it seems that things are going to wrap up to where we began all those years ago…… I quiet enjoyed this episode as a set up for things to come, it wasn’t brilliant but it was serviceable…

6/10

Beneath You

Previously …. Buff y plays with Spike’s emotions and dumps him ….. we get the whole bit about the Xander and Anya wedding that went wrong…… Spike tries to rape Buffy and that spells the end of their relationship and Warren shoots Buffy and kills Tara in the process. Which causes Willow to go mad! Spike gets his soul back as Giles takes Willow to the farm to detox as Anya and her demon friend warn about an upcoming threat…… Oh and they reopen the school, where Buffy gets a job at and finds Spike in a delusional state living under the school ….. Fhew that was a lot…… nothing on the zombies from last episode though!

Franfurt and we get another international girl running for her life scene to some techno music! I wonder if that is her natural hair colour as she is getting beat up and killed by a mad monk! It was all a DREAM…….. “from beneath you it devours!” EARTHQUAKE or Giant Earth worm? I guess we’ll find out soon enough.

I hate rats, a sentiment not shared with delusional Spike, the Earthquake is playing havoc with him. Cut to Dawn and she is just as thrilled to have Buffy and Xander at school with her. Xander is in a real slump in the relationship area.

Buffy is shown the ropes by Principle Wood, not a good thing  to bring up the whole Principle getting eaten thing. Evil Basement time and Buffy is down to check up on Mr. Spike.

Back to England where it seems that Willow is ready to go home according to Giles, however she is not as confident. I am in awe at how great these two are on screen together!

Woman walking dog, dog gets sucked into the ground, woman freaks out and some how ends up with Buffy, Dawn and Xander comforting her when Spike comes in awake and with his famous hair cut!

Nancy stop trying to hit on Spike, Xander still does not like Spike and Dawn is not too happy about the whole situation either. “Something’s coming…..” Spike offers his help to the situation as Xander clumsly explains to Nancy that Buffy is just a friend who happens to be a girl. Dawn threatens to light Spike on fire.

Spike and Buffy go off to investigate the scene of the dog napping, Buffy is still having nightmares of the attempted rape, Spike only response is that he has changed, will he reveal the fact that he is now in possession of his soul? maybe not.

Nancy and Xander have an awkward moment where she makes it clear that she is interested in the big X, only to be interrupted by a giant sand worm type creature (the CGI is not bad considering.) Every girl seems to have a psycho ex boyfriend on this show….. nice segway to Anya trying to get her vengeance demon on!

Only to be interrupted by Anya and it seems that she is responsible for the sand worm who is the ex of Nancy who is confused about who is who and wonders who hasn’t slept with who, with a priceless shot of Spike and Xander looking at each other! (I had to pause here to get back to some semblance of  nomalicy.)

Anya sees spike for what he really is and his response is slapping Anya who fights back! Buffy jumps into the action when Nancy runs off hating the fact that she is surrounded by freaks and demons. Bad move with the worm going on the attack! Anya refuses to reverse the spell due to the heart break of the dumping at the alter.

Buffy swings in to save the day when Spike attacks the worm only to stab when the spell is reversed, the old Spike wouldn’t bat an eyelid, but the soul inside burns due to the carnage he caused…… “From beneath he devours” So much is happening and at the same time we are going nowhere.

Spike has lost his mind, he doesn’t know what he is anymore. Is this the moment that Buffy finds out what Spike has done, what will be her reaction to this drastic step taken by Spike?

 

WHAT A SCENE, great effect to end this one off.

this is such a difficult episode to rate, was it better than the first one? not really, but it wasn’t worse either …….

6/10

Buffy Challenge Post 60: Season 6: Episodes 21 – 22

Two to go

It’s a stinking hot night here in Melbourne, Australia…… No sleep for the wicked and If I can’t go out on patrol for Vampires I might as well finish off Season 6 of Buffy and other than a handful of episodes, this has been a brilliant season.

Well lets not dilly dally any further and dive into the appropriately named episode entitled two to go (double meaning warning, see there are two nerds left to face the wrath of Willow and there are two episodes left in the season, ant those folks at mutant enemy clever…..)

Previously on Buffy…… Buffy was dead and Willow brought her back but she was in heaven and was torn away by her friends…… Giles goes home back to England….. Buffy discovers the Nerds are trying to be a pain in her ass….. Tara breaks up with Willow for using too much magic …….. Willow has an addiction to magic …… Spike and Buffy get it on….. Buffy dumps Spike after using him for her own needs ….. Anya and Xander announce they are getting married ……. Xander leaves Anya at the Alter (idiot!) …… Anya returns to becoming an vengeance demon ….. Anya and Spike get it on!!!!! …….. Xander sees the show and at the same time finds out about Spike and Buffy ……  Dawn is a little thief ……. Willow and Tara kiss and make up ……. Spike tries to rape Buffy in what I see as one of the most disturbing scenes I’ve seen in this show to date…. Spike runs off…… Warren wields a gun and fires wildly hitting Buffy …… OH MY GOD THEY JUST KILLED TARA!!! …… Willow tries to resurrect her lover to no avail …… Willow absorbs Black magic and does a little surgery on Buffy to get her back on her feet (and keeps the bullet she took out of her.) …… Willow goes after Warren ….. Spike makes a deal with the devil to get rid of the chip in his head ……. Willow skins Warren alive……. Willow ends the episode with the line “One Down!” which naturally leaves us with TWO TO GO……

FEW I think that is the BIGGEST RECAP EVER!!!

Buffy, Xander and Anya are chasing after Willow as they know that she is after Jonathan and the other guy, what’s his name indeed. Anya teleports out of there, will we see Anya Vs Dark Willow? are Willow’s actions justified? Buffy and Xander discovered that the car has been destroyed, so naturally Buffy leaves Xander and runs off in super pace, leaving the powerless Xander to catch up and feel inadequate.

Down in the holding cells I REALLY DON’T WANT TO BE JOHANTHAN or ANDREW right now. I can’t believe that Andrew is still hoping that Warren will get them out of this jam but you have to give props to anyone who can quote a comic book plot that relates to their situation, even if he has to be corrected by Jonathan. Andrew finally admits that Jonathan is out of the loop. Anya arrives and warns the two clowns that they are in trouble and let them know why, by getting straight to the point! Anya lets them know that Warren is dead and they are next. The warden is surprised that Anya is  in the cell and that he needs to let them out.

Cut to the Jurassic Park water in the cup vibrating scene and the awesome arrival of Dark Willow, Whoah with one word Willow puts the cop to sleep and breaks down the cop shop to get at the boys. I hope Andrew dies, he is so annoying. Anya can’t help them and the police as usual are useless. I don’t think pointing the guns are going to help against the witch. Buffy breaks them out to Willow’s dismay, she takes out the voice of reason in Anya and Xander steals a police car to save the two.  Willow is really scared.

It’s an interesting point, Willow doesn’t kill them straight away because she wants them to suffer. Johanthan remids us that there has been a change from the innocent girl we once knew, now she is a homicidal witch with the power to take over a big rig truck to chase down the car. Great effects and action by the way.  It seems that this had taken too much out of her as she blacks out leaving the car to get away.

Back to Dawn in Spike’s lair and his droopy buddy is rating the chips like I rate these episodes…… I wonder who James Halloway is? (name was on the tombstone behind them.) Dawn convinces Klem to let her out. Cut to a topless Spike for all the ladies watching the show, (he has NO REASON NOT TO WEAR A SHIRT!!) His trials begin as Dawn is trying to find the Magic pusher to find the where about of Willow. Dawn is finally stepping up.

Anya is still not talking to Xander as they retreat back to the Magic Box to find away to stop Willow. Buffy lays down the law to Jonathan, they seem to be in a no win situation as Willow goes to the pusher for a recharge which she takes directly from him. (she has become really blinded by hate and rage.) Dawn has this really bad habit of finding dead bodies this season. As Willow freaks us ALL out!

Willow is now the embodiment of magic and I doubt Dawn can talk her out of this.  Willow is not the same person but she has a point about not wanting to hear the whining anymore, ah man Buffy stops her. Anya and Xander are trying to figure out how to stop Willow and Andrew is talking nonsense to try to get Jonathan to turn on them. Jonathan finally grows a pair and shuts him up. Ah man too many Star wars references to mention in Andrews speech, but I do appreciate each one!

Xander still has faith in Willow, yet Anya doesn’t agree. Xander is wondering if Anya will turn on him, Xander is admits that he feels that the situation is his fault.

Buffy vs her most challenging opponent yet, Dark Willow. Willow is talking in the third person as she descends into madness. Buffy is trying to get through to her about not going down this path, all that does is allow Dark Willow to point out the hypocrite that Buffy has been this season, and while we are doing that let’s just teleport to the magic box while we are there. Willow tries to attack the boys but they are being protected by a shield constructed by Anya. Yeah, the swords are not going to help.

Back to the Spike vs fire fist guy. (how long have these two been fighting for?) Spike gets the win. Back to Willow who is not doing the killing she wants to do. She hasn’t figured out that Anya is protecting them. Plan B, Soup up the power and do it the old fashion way, however she has to get through Buffy first. I never thought I’d see those two fighting…… (in this reality anyway before you harp on about vampire Willow). Oh this is great! Willow Vs Buffy, the witch vs the slayer and the winner is the fans! (get off Super Bitch!! I love that line.)

Xander and Dawn try to get Andrew and Jonathan to safety, only to have Andrew turn on them (man I hope he dies!) Back to the brawl, Willow discovers that Anya is still there and is the reason her magic is not working. Back to the standoff and Jonathan continues to become a man. Willow knocks out Anya as she now has the clear advantage as she blasts Buffy across the room. GILES IS BACK!!!!!

Oh Boy, What an episode!!!! I can’t wait to see how this one ends!!!

10/10

Grave

Previously on Buffy …….. Spike goes on a mystic journey to get the chip removed from his head to get revenge on Buffy, (even though he can kind of hurt her anyway) Warren Kills Tara and shoots Buffy….. Willow hunts down and kills Warren. Anya and Xander spring Andrew and Jonathon from jail. Willow has gone mad with power and blows Buffy away, only to be stopped by a returning Giles!

Anya is happy to see Giles and Willow teases the fact that “Daddy is home.” Giles is not going to get through to her with words and it’s amazing how powerful he is. Dark Willow is cool! Her eyes are not so black but she is not listening to him at all. "BUCKLE UP RUPERT, BECAUSE I'VE TURNED PRO!!!" OH BOY!!!!

Giles hits her with a ring of flubber of some sort (or a binding field) That is so cool that with all this chaos going on he still notices that Buffy cut her hair. GROUP HUG!!!!

What to do with Willow, I doubt he can hold her forever, as she lets him know that. Giles reassures Buffy that this trip is not council sanctioned. That he is hear because of the great disturbance that was felt. Buffy fills Giles in on everything that has been going wrong with everyone and when she mentions that she has been sleeping with Spike, Giles breaks out laughing which makes Buffy laugh, and so do I!

Willow is playing mind games with Anya, SO MANY STAR WARS REFERNCES! and they are still laughing about the whole season. Giles shouldn’t of left but at the same time it wasn’t like he could of done anything to change the situation. These character moments are really well written as Buffy questions why she is back. I think Willow was different from at least season 4 onwards, this was a long time coming. Willow gets free and as the magic battle begins, (it’s kind of funny how this battle is better than anything I’ve seen in all the Harry Potter movies!)

Xander is trying to figure out where they are going to hide, and Dawn once again tries to put things in perspective. Why would Xander tell Dawn that other than to give us a reason to flash to a topless Spike! (again I have to protest the whole objectifying men as sexual objects bit in this show!) EWWW! Bugs.

Dark Willow is getting the upper hand as the battle rages on. Giles is starting to struggle with the fight, but he is playing the “what would Tara say about this” card so Willow tries to send him to her. Buffy saves the day and can’t anyone remember Andrew’s name? Fire ball time and Buffy is about to be toast, nope, it’s for Jonathan and Andrew. “Fly my pretty, Fly” Buffy is off to stop the orb as Dark Willow is ready to finish Giles off. Absolute Power Corrupts absolutely. Dark Willow tries to get a charge out of Giles and the power is too much for even her to handle as she wakes up to the realization of her actions or does she?

The group have run to the cemetry as Buffy dives to save the group from the fire ball, only to have the after shock cause some serious damage knocking out Xander and causing the Summers Girls to fall though the ground into the cave below. What are wanted nerds to do but to run away to Mexico. Anya finds Giles as it seems that he is now connected to Willow in some way.  He sees that Willow is now not after a couple of nerds but the whole world!!!

Buffy is trying to get out of the situation that she finds herself in to no avail. Dawn confronts Buffy about the rape attempt, Dawn has a point  she is not a child anymore and Buffy needs to, oh wait here comes Xander to kind of save the day. Anya lets Buffy know of Willow’s plan as we cut to her resurrecting an old Satanic temple. Anya gives us a quick history lesson and the point is that Willow can not be stopped by magic, oh and Giles is now in real trouble of not making it out of this season alive.

Willow is now letting everyone know the plan as she is about to kill Buffy via lobster roots monsters. Buffy hands a sword to Dawn as they fight together as Willow continues her chant that causes the quakes and Anya lets Giles know how she feels. All that stands between Willow and the end of the world is XANDER????

WE ARE ALL DOOMED!!!!

Dawn has some wicked sword swinging skills! Xander still refuses to lie down, and he lets Willow know that he still wants to be with her. Maybe her destroying the world is because of the crayon braking in kinder garden. Xander is getting the snot beaten out of him but his love is keeping him strong and Love is what saves the world. (I want to get back to this point in a second)

The demons are gone and Giles is fine other than the bump on his head but what is new there? Giles lets Anya know the magic that Willow had taken was engulfed in power of rage and vengeance, where as the power that she took from him was the link to humanity that was needed.

Buffy is overjoyed and finally wakes up to herself, apologizing for how she has treated Dawn and the others since she returned. Now all they have to do is figure a way out, they climb out of the grave to see the sunlight. Xander is comforting Willow and Anya helps Giles out. As for our nerdy friends, they are hitching a ride with a really scary looking truckie. (Prison would be a better option I think.)

We end the season with a beaten and battered Spike, who has gone through what he had to……. to get HIS SOUL BACK!! WHOAH DID NOT SEE THAT COMING…..

What a season finally,

10/10

just on Xander’s Final stand. It got me thinking about how much love God has for us and no matter what we do He is still there taking it and saying that He loves us, in the end He does save the day though love!

WHAT AN AMAZING SEASON!!! there will be a short hiatus before we get into the final season (as report writing is coming up for me,) but as soon as I’m done we will be back to wrap up this 2 year journey which has been THE BUFFY CHALLENGE!!!!

Buffy Challenge Post 59: Season 6: Episode 19 – 20

Seeing Red

Previously on Buffy ……. Buffy doesn’t love Spike …. Willow and Tara get back together … Anya and Spike get together …… Xander sees the action …… Xander is upset with Anya oh yeah he tries to kill Spike in the process and now he finds out about Buffy’s secret after Spike spills the beans!

Alright what a start to the show! Tara and Willow, ahem reconnect! Willow the world’s greatest detective! and Tara lets Willow know that there was a relationship between the Slayer and Spike. Buffy is still not home and everyone is panicking. Poor Xander? not sure I agree with that, Dawn is SO happy that Willow and Tara are back together as Buffy finds the lair of the nerds. TOO LATE, as a giant Saw cuts through her favorite jacket! The Nerds are in for a WORLD of hurt!

All is good with Willow and Tara, Buffy lets them know that the house is destroyed. So Xander and Spike are out! Anya is back to her old job and she is a little rusty. The nerds are attacking a monster of some sort. Dawn goes to see Spike who is drowning his sorrows. Spike finds out that his little fling with Anya was seen by EVERYONE, and Dawn asks Spike the tough question and it seems that Spike still loves Buffy. There are real issues when Dawn is making sense. Jonathon has to play dress up again. What is Warren’s obsession with orbs? This can’t be good!

Just what we need, Warren with more power. Buffy meets up with Xander and he is not happy! He can kind of get why Anya was with Spike, but he can’t understand Buffy’s motivation. Pot calling the kettle black here! Xander needs to stop being a whining hypocrite. He brought this on himself.

Willow is getting her tech on, to Tara’s approval. Xander hits the bar and he does wonders in repelling a beautiful woman. Buffy kills a Vampire who gets one last kick in. Spike confronts Buffy and apologizes for sleeping with Anya. Buffy admits she has feelings but there is no trust for love.

Spike can’t force love, that is Rape. That is the reason Buffy doesn’t love Spike. Back at the Bronze and the nerds are pushing their agenda. Warren is testing out his new strength. There is nothing worse than a nerd with power. Xander feels the full force of Warren’s scorn. Xander finds a venerable Buffy after Spike attacked her.

The gang is kind of back together figuring out what is going on with the nerds. Spike is starting to figure out that he has now destroyed any chance he would have with her. Spike has nowhere to go, he is not a man and he can’t be a monster.

You have Super powers so what are you going to do with it? Rob a bank of course. Super Warren vs the Slayer, Warren can’t win this one! Can he? John jumps on Buffy and gives her the information he needs. Now Buffy has the upper hand until Warren flys off! Andrew also has a rocket pack but forgets to look up. WELCOME TO THE BIG HOUSE BOYS!!!

Spike is not a happy vampire as he rides off into the sunset. Xander comes to speak to Buffy as she looks for more cameras. Time for this seasons heart to heart. Buffy and Xander make their peace as Warren comes shooting like mad and both Tara and Buffy get shot ….. What THE HELL……

I AM IN SHOCK!!!

After Spike rode off into the night I was set on giving this episode a solid 7 or 8 but due to the last 15 seconds it is a 9/10

Villains

Previously…… Buffy doesn’t love Spike …… Willow Loves Tara …. Buffy kicks Warren’s Ass …. Spike tries to rape Buffy …. Spike rides off into the darkness …….  Warren shoots like a mad man and hits Buffy and in the biggest Shock Tara as well! …. This brings out the RAGE IN WILLOW!

Mad rush by the paramedics to arrive on the scene, they arrive to Buffy but they have no idea about the disaster that is brewing upstairs. Willow begs for the life of Tara, unfortunately she is NOT coming back!

Buffy is getting rushed to the hospital as Willow finds out that Warren is responsible. Andrew and John are starting to realize the severity of the situation, sort of. Warren is in a happy mood the bastard! He thinks he killed the slayer, so he brags about it with the local demons and vampires. They let them know that a bullet didn’t do the job and we have one ANGRY WITCH! Willow absorbs the dark arts, as Dawn is the first to discover the body of Tara.

Warren is starting to discover that not everyone has heard of what he has done as the magic pusher tells him who he really needs to be worried about. Buffy is being treated for the bullet wound when Dark Willow shows up. Willow extracts the bullet in what can only be described as an awesome effect. Warren tries to run like the weasel that he is. Willow is out for revenge.

Willow is in full control of the situation as she stops the bus and orders Warren to leave the bus, she squeeze out the eye of a Warren Bot. Willow lets Buffy and Xander know that Tara is dead, Willow wants revenge and Buffy is trying to let Willow know that they don’t kill.

Buffy and Xander find Dawn cowering in the room with the deceased Tara. This is the lowest I’ve seen them be. Dawn wants revenge and Xander agrees, unfortunately Buffy reminds them that She can’t kill another human. I think it is too late for Willow though. It’s time also to let Dawn step up to the plate. Why would Buffy trust Spike? Willow makes a map appear from the splattered blood on her shirt.

Buffy and Dawn arrive at Spikes pad to see that he has skipped town. Dawn has to face the torment of watching the wedding planner as Spike ends up on some cave in the middle of nowhere and he seeks a way to return to what he once was. Spike has to face some sort of trials to return to his evil self.

Anya finally lets Xander know that she has returned to her vengeance ways, as the vengeance is strong in Willow. She is hunting Warren and out for revenge, Warren hits an ax to the back and we go to commercial. Unfortunatly for Warren an Ax is not going to stop Dark Willow. Nor a Ball of some sort. Warren is in serious trouble as he buys himself sometime to get a little heads up, yet Willow catches him. Willow brings back the dead that he killed. Warren does need to SHUT UP!!!

The bullet from Buffy? Willow pushes the bullet into him and finally shuts him up by sticking up his lips. The weasel tries to talk himself out of it to no avail as she skins him alive then makes him burn up into flames as she disappears.

an interesting episode to wrap up this arch with Willow descending into the darkness that she was threatening to fall into.

So that was Villains Plural Huh? Spike a Villain, check. Warren a Villain, Check. Willow the Villain, ??????

7.5/10

Well there we go only 2 more episodes in what has been a solid season. So just remember not to accidently kill the girlfriend of a really powerful witch or she WILL skin you alive!!!

Until the Season Finally………