Bit difficult to say anything about this issue without breaking the 'no 'shipper talk' rule. But yeah, I enjoyed it.

deborahmm | February 18, 09:11 CET

Please don't bring back The First controlling minds again.

Funny issue (again) but I miss Spike's self-deprecating humor

anca | February 18, 09:35 CET

Nice that Andrew came out, and cute that he ran away afterwards in a conventionally Andrew way. The Spuffy stuff felt very much like the kind of story Buffy might have done in a TV season 10 - so, well done everyone involved.

Liam Mars | February 18, 13:25 CET

I've been hoping for a lot more "why" behind the surface of the actions the characters take, and this season has been pretty good about doing just that. This issue delivers a metric ton of the why and reveals some emotional truth for several characters. Buffy expresses her feelings?!? That's definitely something to write home a letter to the editor about.

Andrew, Xander, and Dawn are all very sweet and funny. I particularly like Andrew dissing San Francisco, just like us locals do. Giles was also amusing, though who doesn't feel sympathy for the poor little guy?

I love that everybody is making sense and that there are no tortured misdirects for the sake of the plot. The story is flowing in a (super) natural way. Now for the new big bad to make hash of all this progress...

Rebcake | February 18, 16:52 CET

Good issue in a season I am enjoying very much. I'm loving all the characters living together and the way all the relationships are working.

Shade of Pale | February 19, 00:23 CET

I found Buffy's expression too ambiguous after Spike had made his declaration but that seems to just be me and, putting that aside, I think the season has been a strong build up to where they are now and am looking forward to seeing how they deal with the troubles ahead. Xander and Dawn were great and it was lovely to see them relaxed together for a change, kind of makes you see how they got together before. And Giles, wow, isn't he just a tinderbox, poor guy. And one with power/magic... not a great combination.

[ edited by Stoney on 2015-02-19 14:56 ]

Stoney | February 19, 05:54 CET

Well, I loved this issue - I'm so glad that they went there, even if it means maximum angst down the road. I think the development fit the plot and the characters.

I understand the criticism about the lack of a Big Bad; however, I am comfortable without a clear focus. I think that it's evolving for dramatic effect and as others have said, we are getting a lot of character development.

Spuffy must play a role in the coming evil. There are all kind of questions that can come up in the current environment as well as difficult choices that Buffy and the rest of the Scoobies could face if Spike's soul gets altered. Will the new rules of magic apply to him? What were even the old rules regarding souls? Is Spike connected to the soul eaters because of his soul? I suspect we are at the top of the first hill of the angst roller coaster. For now though, I'm enjoying the view.

On to other matters.

Andrew was great. Without his big body, I can see him running scared from himself. I hope that he comes around. Xander seemed slightly more positive then I thought he would be about the relationship developments. I did enjoy his time with Dawn and I am glad he didn't push her.

@Stoney, you are right, Giles is a mess. That's not a good predicament. He's also not a great Spike advocate.

hann23 | February 19, 10:03 CET

Very interested to see if Spike's dream is connected to the dreams Angel was having earlier in the A&F book and that still remain unresolved.

baldrick | February 19, 11:29 CET

Pretty sure they are going to be @baldrick. Either manipulated by someone - a spell from a peeved Giles? Dru? It would have to be someone that spanned the books so not likely to be the sculptor and gang - or just related to the changes in the magics/rules. They are too similar to be a coincidence.

Stoney | February 19, 12:35 CET

Looks like I have to catch up on Angel and Faith really soon.

hann23 | February 19, 12:54 CET

To me it looked as though maybe Spike had lost his soul. Or at least that's what I thought.

warmdeliciouscookieme | February 19, 13:45 CET

I thought he lost his soul as well. I don't think the dreams for Angel and Spike are linked because, at least with Angel, they are tied to a specific event (the convent fire, seeming to be part flashback and part present-day). Spike's dream was a bit more generalized, almost as if he had walked out and committed a random killing.

I also thought the dream was a throw back to the issues he had in season seven when the First was manipulating his trigger to get him to kill people. I really hope it's not that.

Very interesting! Either way, we seem to be on the path to dealing with a soulless Spike one way or another.

basuraboi3 | February 19, 14:38 CET

I don't know. The chances that both books are independently writing the two souled vampires as having dreams about killing people is pretty slim. You would think they weren't plotted by the same people. And this is running alongside verse-wide changes in vampires and changes in magic, significant in both titles. So I think there is a good chance they can both be affected by something that is just showing slightly differently but with the same broad strokes. The potential of a literal manifestation of his demon is there for a Somnambulist effect but Aurora pointed out elsewhere that his shirt that was on the bed post has gone when he wakes from the dream so he might have literally stepped out. I don't think his soul will have just gone, too much of a S2 repeat and with no curse in play, but perhaps his demon is somehow separating? Too many potentials and not enough to go on so far and I'm really poor at guessing anyway so ignore me freely, ha!

Stoney | February 19, 14:53 CET

Spike was pretty upset by the 'dream', so I assume he still has his soul. I don't see how it would add up that he lost his soul, went out and killed some people, because hey that's what soulless vampires do, and then woke up feeling horrified about it all. I'm in the camp that thinks Spike and Angel are confronting a similar problem. It'd be interesting if it was something Giles had done. He's got plenty of reason to be p.o'd at Angel, and Spike's dream happens immediately after Giles has his temper tantrum about Spuffy sex. But I don't think that's the best bet -- somehow I just don't see them going there with Giles.

Maggie | February 19, 15:28 CET

I can see that Maggie, to me it did remind me of season 2 with angel losing his soul. Maybe now with the new rules for magic tying a soul to a vampire has changed. What worked previously no longer applies and their souls are slowly slipping away from them. Could be a juicy plot point with writing the new rules for magic in the Vampyr book.

warmdeliciouscookieme | February 19, 16:25 CET

I enjoyed this issue. A few years ago I would have been really ecstatic but I've since had my Buffy obsession smacked out of me by season 8.
It does seem that the issues Nicholas Brendon co-writes are just really funny.
When Giles first came back as a kid I thought it had a lot of potential. But the sex obsession thing is getting a bit old. I mean seriously he wasn't getting that much action as an adult. And I don't think 12 year olds are that obsessed. None that I've known anyway.
Glad Andrew came out.

Xane | February 20, 07:45 CET

I got my copy of Buffy # 12,"Dare To Love Part II" on Friday evening.

I don't really have much to say.As most know,the Buffy/Spike stuff isn't my cup of tea and that was the brunt of the issue.

I did like little things in the issue though .Liked the Xander/Dawn scenes.For the first time this season they weren't trying to rekindle things and their interaction felt natural again.

The Giles plot I think is going to a interesting place.After last issue and this, it's clear Giles feels so frustrated at his current state.This could get really interesting going forward.

I thought Buffy's lines about Xander oversharing were funny.

Didn't really have much feelings about Andrew coming out and his possible new relationship.I don't really care for Andrew as a character so ,yeah no real feeling positive or negative there.

As for the end and Spike's dream.As others are speculating,this could related to Angel also having the same thing happening to him in Angel & Faith.So we'll see if there is a connection and where that goes.

So,those are my thoughts on Buffy # 12.

Buffyfantic | February 22, 03:51 CET

As long as Giles is in his current state of mind, I'm going to call him Randy.

I hadn't been that invested in Andrew, but I liked that he's accorded some respect from his coven friends, and that some gentle teasing from Julie in the previous issue set him on his path to coming out. I don't see him having that kind of conversation with the other Scoobies.

ReaverTam | February 24, 07:36 CET

"As long as Giles is in his current state of mind, I'm going to call him Randy."

Haha. Good one. Randy Giles.

Xane | February 25, 20:51 CET

Boy, the past few issues have been like a teen drama. Why are these people soooooo complicated? You like someone. You tell them. You start dating. It's not rocket science. Sheesh. This type of stuff kind of annoys me because people don't need to make relationships this needlessly complicated. They are so full of drama it would drive me nuts having to deal with any of them right now, but I guess as an adult I'm not so melodramatic as they all are.

That said, I enjoyed this issue. There was a time when Buffy being with Spike instead of Angel would've bothered me, but I kind of don't care anymore. I'm over it, and frankly, more interested in seeing Angel with Faith some day than with Buffy.

Lot of great humor in this issue. I've said it before though, but Giles is really whiny, but I guess kids his age are. He literally has NO PROBLEMS in his life right now. He gets to be a kid again, and he has to wait a few years before he can have sex with someone again. Boohoo. It's not the end of the world. Kid Giles is annoying...but thankfully, quite funny too.

Love Spike and Xander's relationship, the best thing about the past few issues.

Dawn is getting on my nerves. Just tell Xander you're not interested any more and stop stringing him along. And Xander just needs to move on already. The Dawn/Xander drama is getting tiresome. Frankly, Dawn's whole story line right now is just weird and doesn't make any sense. I don't understand how her feelings for him just disappeared all of a sudden if the memories are still there. This story line is making me not like her.

I like the new artist, not more than Rebekah though, but she's good

Once again, I think Angel&Faith is the stronger of the two books even without Cage and Isaacs on it anymore.

[ edited by Angel&Faith on 2015-03-15 22:06 ]

[ edited by Angel&Faith on 2015-03-15 22:07 ]

Angel&Faith | March 15, 14:05 CET