"Inca Mummy Girl"

Couple notable things about this episode:

• First sighting of Oz and Jonathon, as far as I can tell--which is sort of cosmic balance. The embodiment of cool and the social outcast intro'd at the same time. And Oz is attracted to Willow from first glance, which is nice.
• Buffy sees an analogy between herself and the mummy girl, both chosen, both sacrificing themselves. The only mention of Buffy and death is at the very end, when she tells Xander she wouldn't be alive without him and smiles...not the "thank you" she'd purred that he wished for when she danced at him, but a far more genuine acknowledgment. Contrasting that with the pat little speech she gives at the Magic Box to thank them for bringing her back in season 6...this, unspoken, is much more sincere.
• In an episode about sacrifice, it's Xander who offers himself as the sacrifice, pulling Willow out of danger and saying he wants to be in the line of fire--or kissing, as the case may be. (Judas imagery, but not...) This is almost practicing for the yellow crayon speech at the very end of season 6--same dynamic in the logic, and interestingly, same goal: saving Willow.
• The goofy Xander/champion Xander split is becoming more pronounced, I think. Even the way he's dressed in a scene forshadows which one we see--that's my theory. I'm going to keep watching to see if it holds true. Thus far, I still think the writers understand him better than any other character and so we're getting a more nuanced personality from him, but the others are coming along.

No Spike, Angel, or Jenny in this one, and Cordelia is just comic relief. But what I'm noticing (first impression--gotta see if this holds true) is that the episodes in season 1 & 2 that I originally thought were throw-aways or weaker (Teacher Pet, the Pack, etc)--usually not part of the meta-plot--are in fact character building/defining episodes and figure importantly into the overarching mythos of the series. Hm....gotta think.