No Place Like Home

Story arc for season five is started, and we meet Glory--although we don't learn her name for a while, and its even longer before we find that she is Ben...and vise versa. That's interesting, now that I think about it: the season starts with episodes about identity, Dawn's and Xander's, now a major plot point involves identity-the Ben/Glory connection. In fact, ultimately what saves Glory from Buffy is that Buffy won't kill Ben--a human (Giles, however...that's different).

This specific episode is concerned with identity as well. Buffy finds out the Dawn is "The Key," with no idea yet what that means, except that Dawn has only recently become human. Buffy's grousing about wanting to be an only child--growing pains as she grows into her role as big sister.

And Dawn, with her total lack of savvy, reveals that Buffy doesn't want Riley patrolling--his instincts were correct about how his role would change with the loss of his powers. And Spike, in a brief appearance showing that he's watching/stalking Buffy (outside her house, a pile of cigarette butts revealing he's been there a while), utters the famous "Out for a walk....bitch" line when Buffy only gives him 5 words to explain his presence. Interesting, here at the beginning of their "relationship" of sorts, she calls him "William" instead of Spike. According to a Buffy wiki, she does that twice in the whole series: now, and when she ends their relationship in season 6. Gotta think about that....

And the title? Joyce is home from the hospital, Dawn is "home" now. There are some very domestic moments, and Joyce and Dawn clearly have a close relationship--nicknames and book clubs, and Buffy feels left out...jealous, like a new big sister might. By doing a spell, Buffy realizes Dawn wasn't Home there previously, but the dying monk affirms that Buffy is to protect Dawn; we find out later that Dawn was made from Buffy...whatever that means.

So exactly what does the title mean? Not sure, but the domestic family theme is crucial, and the exploration of identity in the first few episodes continues.

Lovers Walk

Big deal episode. Spike's back for an episode, and manages to upset the status quo enough that people and situations are different at the end of the episode than they were at the beginning. Even though the last episode was called ""Revelations," this is the episode where the secrets hit everyone in the face--and, in a proto-Spike way--he not only instigates it, but like the court jester, he voices what people aren't willing or able to say...maybe even to think.

The episode begins happy: SAT scores are back! Willow's faux depression over her very high but not perfect score is played for laughs, and she and Oz are adorable. fawning over a Pez witch. Cord and Buffy have much higher scores than would be expected, and Xander's less then stellar score is laughed off; he didn't expect better--and, more importantly, Cordy has pictures of him in her locker! That's much better than being smart.

The end of the episode, though...wrenching. Cordy nearly died, and tells Xander unequivocally to never come near her again; Oz and Willow are separate since Oz saw her kissing Xander; Joyce knows Angel is alive--and she isn't happy about it; and Buffy has told Angel they aren't friends and she's not coming back.

There's only a hint of Season three in here; the mayor appears, but briefly. No Faith, little Giles even. This episode is seminal, though, setting up or making explicit dynamics that push the show for the next 4 seasons. Spike is almost an emotional savant, a constant victim of his own emotions, but acutely aware of other's emotions as well--which means he often understands their actions and motivations better than they do. His prodding causes too nice Willow to stand up to him and say there will be no biting. He tells Angel and Buffy that they are not friends, ending an epic, foreshadowing speech with "I may be love's bitch, but I'm man enough to admit it," causing Buffy to confront her conflicted feelings about Angel and ultimately tell him that the only way they can be friends is if he tells her he doesn't love her. He can't, and the rest of the season is spent untangling their relationship (so he can go begin his own show, yes, I know).

Understanding the title is crucial to understanding the subtext. There's no apostrophe on the dvd. It's not the romantic balcony people stood on to see into the distance (also called Widow's Walk); it's saying that lovers walk away. Cordelia doesn't come back; Dru doesn't come back; Buffy basically doesn't come back, although they have their moments; Willow walked away briefly, and we know that ultimately, she chooses Tara instead of Oz. This is an episode about leaving--not even about the pain and aftermath, but the turning point where it happens.

And in the seeds of the end of Buffy/Angel, there's Spike. He doesn't tell us that Dru says he's obsessed with Buffy; we learn that later. But the loathing/working together dynamic of Buffy/Spike, and the trust that they both want to deny they feel towards the other--that's integral to this episode even as Spike has kidnapped Willow and Xander. And when Joyce dies and Spike tries to bring flowers (which Xander rejects without Buffy even knowing), it's easy to believe that Spike genuinely liked and mourns Joyce; that dynamic is set up in this episode too.

The dialogue in this episode is tight--Joss at his best. Some samples: http://www.buffyguide.com/episodes/loverswalk/loverswalkquotes.shtml Joss and co. rock at using language well!

Beauty and the Beasts

On the surface, this is just a throw-away episode. Mysterious deaths, scooby gang doing scooby stuff (Willow even has a Scooby Doo lunchbox in this). Buffy's kind of seeing Scott, but doesn't seem that interested. No big revelations, no huge angst.

However, there is a bit of interesting forshadowing. Buffy is seeing the school counselor, and he echos Joyce's comments from last season about "you're seeing a guy, you get intimate, the guy turns mean..." The theme of Men Turn Mean is not explored in any depth, but is assumed. More interestingly, he also previews Spike's "I'm love's bitch" speech. "Sometimes you love too much, and Love becomes your master, and you're love's dog" was roughly the way it was worded. He made it seem bad; Spike embraced the title. (I think that's this season, too, but I'm not sure.)

Also, Buffy is hiding that Angel's back, and she's obviously worried that he's damaged. In talking with Giles about what it's like to come back from a hell dimension, he explains briefly what it means to have humanity left within you. If it's not there, the returnee can't be saved. If the humanity is, the human can be redeemed. These questions also arise in season 6 after Buffy is resserected--with similar assumptions about her being in a hell dimension, in fact.

Other little things, but overall, not a must see episode--that's my opinion right now. We'll see if I change it, which has happened!