Killed By Death

This one doesn't work for me. It's not the characters or the writing or anything--it's all ok. For some reason, this one hits me as icky and not fitting. I've seen it lumped with the couple of other fairy-tale themed episodes, but it feels like practicing for "Hush" to me. The whole horror movie ambience, the ambiguity of tone...and it's interesting that both times I've watched this episode, I've had nightmares that night. Not plot related or Buffy related, but unsettling, disquieting bad dreams. No other Buffy episodes have done that.

There are 2 little bits of dialog that are interesting: first, Cordy says she doesn't believe in tact. No kidding. She lives up to her Shakespearean namesake well, telling unsoftened truths. The second is Xander and Angel. Angel comes to the hospital, and Xander (whos guarding Buffy) refuses to let Angel in. They are nose to nose, alpha dog battle, and Angel comments that Xander still loves Buffy, and it must rankle that Angel "got there first." Xander doesn't deny any of that, but says firmly that he will be there when Angel dies. Angel stalks off, and (if I remember right) Xander doesn't tell Buffy that Angel came. Where Angel is concerned, Xander is not reliable. Of course we know that Angel doesn't have Buffy's best interests at heart now, and that Buffy is sick and doesn't need to worry--but a pattern is being established: Xander, who will follow Buffy's orders and wishes in every other case, cannot be trusted when Angel is concerned. He sees Angel as a threat for Buffy's attention, and can giftwrap that sentiment in the "He's a vampire; vamps should die" box and justify it.

Some ok flashbacks of Buffy as kid, and adding to the Buffyverse backstory, but...if there's some symbolic, cosmic wonderfulness to this episode, I've missed it.