I agree that they went a little overboard on Willow "getting over it". If there were more time to deal with it, fine, but with time running out on the series,they should have dealt with Willows' guilt,a little sooner, so they can deal with other issues. And where did Amy come from? When she was revealed as the bad guy, I thought.....oh come on!!!! I guess that is their way of sewing up loose ends, but why go to such lengths and drag Amy into it? Send Willow to therapy, and lets get on with it. Her guilt thing has been dragging on way too long.PRECIOUS TIME IS BEING WASTED!!!!!!
The Spike thing did deserve it's own episode all to itself,especially with the Initiative showing up. And, they still haven't answered all the big questions about Giles.
There's so much to cover before it's all over, I'm afraid I'll be cheated out of something I guess. But then, I'm obsessed with the show, so my opinion may not count!
Scuse me, I have to go take my meds now!

lisi | February 05, 20:10 CET

So, uh, the Initiative? They seem to have cleared out the concrete it was supposedly filled with at the end of season 4 pretty quickly don't they?

Or was it due to government cutbacks that it was never filled in the first place? Bit lame, anyway.

Mildly enjoyable, but I think we could have done without this filler episode. Angel was much better.

barry | February 05, 20:19 CET

Enjoyed Spike and Buffy's conversation in the basement, the moment between Willow and Buffy at the beginning, and Buffy's phone call to the "florist shop." Also loved the editing between Willow/Warren moments, and the underground fight scene was one of the best this season.

Hated every single moment that Kennedy was on screen. I was neutral to the whole Willow/Kennedy thing until this week; now it makes me break out in hives. My loathing for that girl knows no bounds. (A friend of mine noted that Kennedy and the leader of the coven had a lot more chemistry than Kennedy and Willow. So. very. true. Can't we hook them up instead?)

I wish the Anya/Dawn/Andrew/Xander gang had gotten more screen time, and MORE GILES PLEASE! And I thought his line about not touching the girls was funny and in character - Giles is always sardonic when he's been surprised.

wren | February 06, 00:49 CET

I found it really hard to swallow that Giles spent weeks in Sunnydale and no one noticed him touch anything. But I guess I can accept it. They still haven't explained why his head is still attached.

Also, geez, I thought Amy was the First when I was watching it. Maybe I'm just slow or something, or it wasn't made clear enough.

zixyer | February 06, 01:09 CET

I actually liked this episode. Partially because the SITs were no where to be seen, and Kennedy didn't seem as annoying. Don't get me wrong, I still don't like her and Willow together. At all. But I didn't throw anything at the television this week either. Spike was great, as usual; Buffy didn't make a long speech; and we finally found out what was with Giles.
I didn't like the kiss at the end though. Way too convient, trying to get Willow to move on. Like, now its okay for her to be with another girl.
Yeah, I kind of thought that Amy was the First also. It would make sense, her trying to off Kennedy and all. But then they would have had to explain how Amy died.

faith21 | February 06, 01:27 CET

Well, hurrah for things happening, although it seems like they could have given some of last night's peril for everyone to the last few episodes to even things out a bit.

The initiative scenes were creepy and nonsensical in ways that didn't bother me. Good setup for Spike-Buffy continuing development. The Giles dilemma is still up in the air, but at least someone noticed that he's been strange. I'm not buying Kennedy and Willow -- it seems really strained -- and Amy's reappearance seems unnecessary, distracting, and poorly motivated.

That said, I liked the episode overall. I really enjoy Andrew's character, as much of a dork as that makes me. They have enough plates in the air that I'm hoping for no new random developments until they've worked a few things out. Yay creepy principal date!

blissbat | February 06, 03:09 CET