Spike's kidnapping really is the crux of the episode as it sets in
motion the Buffybot's collision with the Scooby Gang and some true development
on the Spike and Buffy front. First we get to see some very funny scenes as the
Bot runs off to find the Scoobsters to help save Spike. It is quite funny to see
her tell Willow she knows she is gay over and over. Also, when they confront her
about her relations with Spike it leads to some truly classic moments. Sadly the
The best scene of the episode follows as the real Buffy goes
undercover as the Buffybot in Spike's crypt. She is there to determine whether
or not Spike told Glory of Dawn's true identity. Spike tells her that he would
never do that, he would never betray the real Buffy. She kisses him and he
realizes it is the real Buffy. She tells him she will never forget what he did
for her. This is the turning point in the Spike and Buffy relationship. She will
grow to rely on him even more now and he will move close to becoming a true part
of the Buffy crew. I think that it was handled very well and presented as a
natural progression on Buffy's part. Yes, I am one of those fans who sees
Spike's choosing to be good as a bigger feat than Angel's good turn after his
soul was restored. Shoot me.
Airdate:
April 24, 2001Sarah Michelle Gellar, Nicholas Brendon, Alyson Hannigan
Emma Caulfield, Michelle Trachtenberg, James Marsters
And Anthony Stewart Head
Created by Joss Whedon
Written by Jane Espenson
Directed by Michael Gershman
As we discussed, one of the themes of "The Body" was that the rest of the world doesn't actually stop when a loved one dies. On the other hand, in drama, unimportant things fall away to keep the focus on the important things. So nothing much has happened with Glory lately. Yesterday, however, Ben let slip to her minions that the Key was in human form, and now it's time for Glory to take center stage once again. She does so by making very logical use of this new information, surmising that the Key must be someone who is quite new in Buffy's life1.
The manner in which this idea unfolds over the course of the episode employs certain common elements of farce, but there's not much that's funny about it. I'm talking about misdirection, mistaken identity, stuff like that. Glory's minions observe what they think is Buffy showing a particular defensiveness toward Spike, and they assume that Spike must be the Key. And that seems very logical from their point-of-view. But what they really saw was the Buffy-bot. Yes, this episode features a brief return appearance by Warren Mears, who built April the robot back in "I Was Made to Love You". At the end of that episode, Spike forced him to build a new robot modeled on Buffy, in order to allow Spike to indulge his sexual fantasies.
Meanwhile, the real Buffy is off on a sort of vision quest in an attempt to regain her focus as a Slayer. Actually, her motivation in this is a little muddled. The important thing is a) she's out of Sunnydale for a while, and b) she meets the First Slayer again, who tells her "Death is your gift." This is something we'll be coming back to. The thing is, the Buffy-bot was so well-programmed that it goes out on patrol, where it meets Xander and Anya, who mistake it for the real thing. That seems to make sense. After all, why would it even occur to anyone that their friend, no matter how strangely she's acting, might be a robot? Except that everyone twigged that April was a robot instantly (it was a running gag), and the Buffy-bot acts and speaks exactly like April did.
So anyway, Glory captures Spike and tortures him for information. Buffy gets back from the desert and goes to rescue him (to make sure he doesn't spill the beans on Dawn), and that's basically the episode. Serviceable. Functional. Not particularly interesting. The fact that Spike didn't expose Dawn, not even to save his own life, touches Buffy. That's fine, except that it's another step along the road to this Spike-Buffy relationship that I just don't like.
I should say something about Glory's minions. They are demons who don't seem to have any great power. Their main function all season long has been to provide two things: exposition and comedy. Their obsequious toadying was good for a few chuckles when they were first introduced, but since then, they've been on auto-pilot. Every few episodes, just to remind viewers what's going on, there's a scene with Glory languidly hanging out in her lush apartment, bitching to her minions about needing to find the Key, while they pepper her with fawning compliments. I guess it's ironic that I'm mentioning this now, just as this story finally seems to be going somewhere, but all season long these scenes have been tedious and repetitive. And rarely funny.
1 Technically, she's right about that. Dawn is still less than a year old. But perhaps the monks anticipated Glory's reasoning, and that's why they altered reality to make everyone think and act as though Dawn had always been there. Very clever.
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Welcome
to Rewatching Buffy, the part of the blog where I rewatch Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Each Tuesday evening, you’re invited to join me as I attempt to rediscover what made me love this show 21 years ago.