Beneath You

Buffy Episode Review

In which Spike has Issues.

What Happened

Spike wants to help Buffy figure out the appearance of a subterranean worm monster, but that whole not-being-sane thing gets in the way.

The Good

• Xander has totally got the whole Father taking the Kids to School vibe going as he drives Buffy and Dawn to school.
• Okay, I want to know what the Principal's up to. These corporal punishment jokes are getting a bit weird.
• "We're not best friends anymore, so I'm not sharing." Buffy and Spike both trying to keep it together as they investigate the worm-thing. The insanity is complicating things, naturally, but I'd like to see them define the Spike/William split eventually.
• "Bite me, Harris." Anya facing down the gang at the Bronze. She was really happy for Spike getting his soul... until he hit her, of course.
• Spike's freak. He was trying to shut Anya up and snapped, then went ahead and started lashing out at whoever was around. The first sign that this season may not be any easier than the last.
• "And sooner or later, Anya, that excuse stops working." A little unfair of Xander, but it's also a little unfair to Xander that Anya puts all her troubles on him.
• The last scene with Spike revealing to Buffy that he has a soul now. The way the show ends is something you can only get away with when you've invested six or seven years in a character.

The Bad

• The fact that all the potential never paid off?

The Cliche

• "From beneath you, it devours." Buffy waking up from her dream. And why do they always look out the window when they make the dramatic announcement that Something's Coming?
• Again, with Buffy hiding her demon boyfriend's return to town. Xander and Dawn manage not to freak too badly. Dawn's warning to Spike was too drawn out, but I could tell she meant it.

Best Lines

Giles: "The taxi's here. And in keeping with quaint old British custom, you are now expected to get into it." I'm going to miss Giles.

What Did I Think?

I hope that next week will include some scenes with Buffy explaining how she feels about what has happened to Spike. Sarah Michelle Gellar does a good job with standing there emoting as he talks, but the character of Buffy never seems to articulate her own feelings as often as she needs to make her sympathetic.